


Place Holder

by CleverCatchphrase



Series: Of Two Minds [8]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: (something I honestly shouldn't do, AMAB Chara, Anal, Because you're getting way too into your own story I stg, Budding relationships, COUGH COUGH WINK WINK, Condoms, I like my Charas smol and angry, I shoot that shit down real quick, I'm gonna miss writing tags for this series, It was my favorite part honestly, M/M, Masturbation, Misgendering, Mystery and Intrigue, Or is it plot with porn, Oral, Porn With Plot, The hardest part about writing smut is having to change your underwear every 30 minutes, You Decide, amab Frisk, and just look at their "things used as lube" list for just 2 minutes, and stopping when they ask, because safe sex is sexy sex, blackmail and extortion, both use gender neutral pronouns, but do you know what's sexier than safe sex?, but if you go to the wtffanfiction tumblr, guess what I wrote for NaNoWriMo guys!, if you guessed smut you are correct!, maybe my more ridiculous ones will be good enough to find their way to AO3tagoftheday, miss me with that codependent bullcrap, respecting your partner's boundries and limits, sex-ed through fan fic, the correct application and use of said condoms, the pseudo news of tabloid journalism, unf I almost creamed my pants because that tag was so sexy, you will understand why I am so adament about this)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-01 09:53:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 40,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16762804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CleverCatchphrase/pseuds/CleverCatchphrase
Summary: Glimpses of domestic day-to-day, snippets of quiet conversation, and some other things that happened.Oh, and porn. Caaaan't forget the porn.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Me: *Laces fingers together and pushes palms outward in an attempt to crack my knuckles*
> 
> Me: *Breaks all my fingers instead*
> 
> Me: Here we go!

Chara liked to take showers. Really _long_ showers with water so hot it teetered on the edge of melting their skin off, but in the moment they couldn’t have cared less about bathing in borderline boiling rain. They were too busy taking care of _other_ matters.

The bathroom air was choking with steam, most of it from the running water, but a small fraction from the heat and sweat Chara had managed to work up on their own. They stood with feet slightly splayed in the tub for balance, and head bowed to keep the water out of their eyes. Their left hand braced against the shower wall for extra stability while their right was making sure every last inch of themself had been lovingly scrubbed clean.

Breathing deep and steady, Chara worked their hand down their length with a slow, tight grip. Being soaked in hot water, it was a rare opportunity when their fingers didn’t feel like literal popsicles, and allowed them to actually enjoy the pleasure of touching themselves for once. Still, they figured they should start wrapping it up soon. They had lost track of how long they had been in the shower, but judging by the redness of the rest of their skin in their makeshift sauna, it had been well over twenty minutes. Besides, the longer they continued to tug one out, the greater the chance someone would start to get suspicious of their activities (or worse, the angrier they’d get for using up all the hot water).

Amping up their pace to get to the finish line, Chara cycled through their mental gallery of Images To Get Off To. Let’s see… there was that one anime dude from a hentai manga they snuck out from Alphys’ lab… Frisk’s face smiling at them… that one Disney lion they thought was hot when they were younger… Frisk’s hands hugging them… That one model from their treasured copy of a limited print Men Only Swimsuit Edition of Sports Illustrated… Frisk touching them… Their favorite male porn star… Frisk… Frisk came up a lot in Chara’s fantasies.

Chara grunted, biting their lower lip as they picked up speed. Their knees trembled and their whole body swayed nearing climax. On the edge of their awareness, they felt their elbow bump the bar of soap off its dish and heard the dull thud as it hit the tub’s basin. They made a quick mental note of it before shoving it to the back of their mind in order to focus on the more important task literally at hand.

Gasping as the end drew near Chara sucked in breath after breath, holding each for a second before exhaling in a rush, their heart pumping as fast as their fist. A long strand of pre dripped from their cock, too thick for the shower water to wash away as Chara coaxed out the real prize. Biting their tongue, Chara grimaced as that telltale heat within their groin hit its flash point. The tightness within them snapped, and they unleashed their load as waves of pleasure rolled through them.

Holding nothing back, Chara groaned with bliss as they let their cum flow, aiming in the general direction of the drain. They leaned heavily against the wall for a minute to enjoy the afterglow and to make sure all the evidence of their activity gets thoroughly washed away. When at last their mind is clear and they decide it’s time to get dry, Chara shut off the water and turned to exit the tub.

They remember too late about the bar of soap they knocked to the floor until they notice the odd curiosity of the world tilting on its axis after they step on it.

“Shit!” Chara barked through clenched teeth as their arms pinwheel, but it’s not enough to stop them from falling backwards into the tub. They grab for the first thing their hands touch- the shower curtain- but only manage to pop the cloth off its rings as they fall hard on their ass and hit their head on the wall. “OW. FUCK.”

Apparently pissed off at the sudden disrobing, the curtain rod decided to show Chara What For and fell as well, giving them a good wallop on the way down. Not wanting to be left out, the shower rack in the corner of the tub also decided to tag in, bombarding Chara with an array of shampoos and body wash in a massive, clamoring tumble as it fell on top of them.

Pinned beneath the bottles and the rods, Chara took a deep breath, leaned their smarting head against the wall and began to count.

“One… two… three…”

The vibration of footsteps, hard and fast, thundered down the hall towards the bathroom. A second later Frisk was there, barging through the door.

“Chara!” They gasped in panic. “Are you okay? What happened?”

Frisk didn’t wait for their answer, and before Chara knew it, Frisk was at their side, removing the bottles of conditioner and the shower rack to help them get up.

“Wow, you were quick,” Chara commented. “Got here in six seconds flat. Life Alert should hire you.”

“Har, har, you’re _so_ funny,” Frisk said completely dead pan as they pulled off the last rod and shower curtain. “I’m serious. Did you hurt anything?”

“My dignity’s a little bruised, but that’s about it,” Chara said sitting up. Frisk readily offered them a hand, and Chara took it, secretly thankful that Frisk was finally over feeling awkward about being in their presence when Chara was naked.

“Geez! Your hands are like prunes!” Frisk said, pulling Chara to their feet. “What were you doing so long in the shower for?”

“I was taking care of some _personal business_ , Frisk.” Chara insinuated. “Now, can you pass me a towel, please?”

Too embarrassed by the whole ordeal, Chara missed the flicker of perplexion cross Frisk’s face as they began to dry off. A sense of fret tickled Frisk’s mind, but when they couldn’t place the source, they shoved it to the side and started hanging the shower curtain back up.

“Sorry if I pulled you away from something important,” Chara said, pulling on their clothes.

“No, no it’s fine. I was just studying some flashcards.” Frisk assured them, though their voice was absent and lost in thought. “But… is this why you’re always taking showers in the middle of the day?”

“Mostly,” Chara said nonchalantly. “Though I usually finish before you get back from class. Guess it was better this time I didn’t.”

“Yeah…”

With the crisis resolved, Frisk returned to their room, Chara close behind.

Chara flopped onto their bed and pulled out their DS, while Frisk dropped into their computer chair and turned back to their lecture notes. But ten minutes back into studying, Frisk realized they weren’t retaining a single word. Instead they caught themselves replaying what Chara has said not long ago, and suddenly figured out what was making them feel off.

‘Taking care of some personal business.’

Of course Frisk had understood what Chara meant as soon as they said it, and they had never doubted that Chara indulged themselves in their personal time, but… it just so happened that the two of the had been intimate only a couple hours earlier, right before Frisk had to go to class. Frisk certainly hadn’t rebounded yet to consider carnal activities again in such a short time span. Had Chara…?

A nagging doubt began to chew at Frisk’s consciousness as they deduced what this meant. Either Chara’s libido was far more intense than Frisk thought, or…

“Hey Chara?” Frisk spoke up nervously, twirling around in their computer chair.

“Hm?” Chara hummed, not looking up from their game.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

Frisk’s lips wavered as they tried to find the right words.

 _Just ask,_ Frisk thought to themselves. _Chara’s never belittled you for asking questions. They’ve always been honest with you so why are you afraid?_

Truth be told, it was _because_ of Chara’s honesty that made them hesitate. They worried Chara would voice this growing doubt inside of them and make it true. They picked at their nails, trying to remove any dirt that may linger under them, then, mustering up all their courage, Frisk took a deep breath and dared to speak.

“Am I… good enough for you?”

The video game noises from Chara’s DS are abruptly cut off as Chara snapped it shut, and Frisk glanced up to find Chara studying them hard with a look of concern and distress.

“You’re more than I deserve,” Chara said with quiet conviction. “What brought this about?”

“You were… Because of what you were doing in the shower.”

“You don’t like it if I jerk off when I’m in the shower?” Chara asked, utterly baffled.

“No, that’s not it at all!” Frisk said quickly. “It’s just that… you and I were fooling around this morning, and… and, well, it was enough for me, but if you’re doing this almost every day, then does that mean it’s not enough for you?”

A bit of tension left Chara’s body as they processed Frisk’s words and a cautious smile poked the corners of their lips.

“Is this what you’re worked up about?” They asked rhetorically, sitting up some. “Frisk, you’re fine in bed. I enjoy anything we do together.”

“But is it _enough_ , Chara? Am _I_ enough? You’re always enough to satisfy me. I want to know if I can satisfy you in return.”

“You don’t have to worry about me, Frisk.” Chara insisted. “I can take care of my own needs.”

“I know you _can_ take care of yourself,” Frisk rolled their eyes. “But that’s not what I’m getting at. There’s nothing wrong with you satisfying your own needs, but I want to know that I can do that too so you don’t _have_ to. I know I’m not experienced when it comes to things like this but, I’m not some naïve, clueless virgin anymore either.”

“Geez, you’re really hung up on this, aren’t you?” Chara chuckled, looking nervously around the room. “Sex with you is fun, but I can live without it. You don’t have to change to make me happy.”

“Chara, _please_ stop evading the issue,” Frisk pleaded. “I… I’m willing to try new things for you- _with_ you- if it would make you happy. Or… happier.”

“Are you sure?" Chara asked. "I just... I know your limits and don't want to do anything you're not comfortable with."

For some reason, Chara's statement rubbed Frisk the wrong way, but they couldn't explain why. "Chara, we're equals, right?"

"Of course!" Chara responded, almost defensively.

"Then why do you insist on babying me? Do you think I can't handle it? Do you think I'm delicate or something?"

"N-... M-..." Chara waivered, unable to answer honestly. " _Kinda?_ B-but not in a bad way!" They say at last. Frisk exhaled through their nostrils, slightly insulted. "Frisk, please don't be mad. I don't mean it in a demeaning way! I-if you are willing to experiment in the bedroom, then so am I. Sorry if I made it sound like I think you couldn't handle it."

“Then it’s settled,” Frisk said, sitting up straight and fixing Chara with that familiar determined look of theirs. “Chara, what can I do for you that will make you say ‘I’ve had enough?’”

Chara drew up their shoulders and averted their eyes. God, leave it to Frisk to throw them for a loop like this. “Can I… Have some time to think about it?” They asked.

“Sure. Take all the time you need. But until then, spooning is as lascivious as we get, okay?”

Chara looked crestfallen, but agreed. “Fine, deal. Just give me a few days to think of something.”

\--

Ten days. It takes Chara a whole week and a half to deliberate on an activity they wanted to try with Frisk.

It wasn’t an easy decision. After getting over their initial shock of Frisk suggesting, nay, _offering_ to do more, Chara didn’t even know where to begin. Just the notion of Frisk wanting to try new things with them had been something Chara never expected Frisk to say. And it wasn’t that Chara didn’t _want_ to be more adventurous in the bedroom with Frisk- it was just Frisk’s sudden insistence had caught them off guard. 

They thought about it- Their mind drifting off on thoughts of trying out bondage as they prepared a sack lunch for Frisk tomorrow, only to notice they made three extra ham and cheese sandwiches when they snap back to reality, and hastily stuffed the surplus lunches in the fridge.

They thought about it some more- Once while doing their shared laundry, imagining a scenario in their head where Frisk was dominating over them and accidentally began taking the fantasy too far, only to be rudely reminded that sitting on the washer when it entered its spin cycle was not a good idea if you weren’t alone in the house.

They thought about it a lot- Each daydream distracting them so much so that they ended up needing to take a cold shower more than once each day just to stop losing focus. 

But when it became clear that their fantasies would not allow themselves to be organized for more than seconds at a time before Chara succumbed, they did what any rational, hormone-controlled young adult would do, and secretly wrote down their options.

On a scrap sheet of paper, they listed all of their kinks, fetishes, and anything that had ever sexually intrigued them, pinning it on paper so they could move on to the next without thinking too hard. They weren’t exactly surprised when their list took up the entire paper, though they did wonder what Frisk’s reaction would be if they actually knew all the things that turned Chara on. Pfft. As if they'd let Frisk would find out. One look at this paper and they'd be scared away from Chara for life. They'd have to remember to burn this later.

When the last devious idea was finally out of their mind, Chara went back through the list and meticulously began to narrow it down. At first they tired writing them down from tamest to most extreme, but kept double guessing themselves, scratching out and rewriting what went where, unable to decide on an order. Then they went for alphabetical, which, while it looked neater, was just as wildly inconsistent as trying to rank them. Picking one new thing to try was turning out to be a lot harder than they thought, and after hours of consideration, they finally started to figure out why.

Although Frisk had offered Chara the opportunity of a lifetime- to try _anything_ Chara asked of them- Chara still knew there would be limitations on Frisk’s comfort zone. They just couldn’t imagine Frisk willingly being forceful on them even if Chara explicitly asked, so spanking and biting were definitely off the list. Bondage and restraints walked a thin line on the matter. Chara could imagine it _possibly_ working in a roleplay setting, but would Frisk ever feel comfortable being a domineer, even if it was just an act? And these ideas were the ones on the more mellow side of possibilities. There were things on their list Frisk definitely wouldn’t be ready for, things they might not _ever_ be ready for. But that was okay. Frisk wasn’t some puzzle to solve or some test to conquer. 

And yet... Frisk had been so bold, so forward. It was hard not to fantasize when they surprised them like that. It made them doubt if they truly did understand how far Frisk was willing to go. It made them wonder how else Frisk could surprise them...

Chara reflected on what Frisk was already okay with. Nudity and physical contact and a small selection of toys didn’t seem like much, but at least it was a start. Chara thought hard. What was one step up from gentle caresses and intimate touch?

Chara blinked. When they looked at the situation from that angle, the next logical step seemed obvious. hastily, they shove the scrap piece of paper into one of their desk drawers, making a mental note to shred it later, lest Frisk find out. Guess it was time to tell them the good news. Nearly two weeks without being able to touch them was making Chara antsy. They wondered if Frisk felt the same way.

* * *

For the most part, news stories about monsters weren’t as sensational as they had been eight or nine years ago. Sure, every once in a while there’d be an article in the local paper about some goody-two-shoes monster doing some nice deed, followed up by a story about how wonderful monsters were, and how great it was that everyone was getting along. It was all sunshine and rainbows to the slack-jawed consumer who did nothing more than read the headline and looked at the pictures.

A decade ago, stories revolving around monsters had surged the Ebott tabloids to the top of news journalism, back when everyone had begun seeing oddly shaped folk with magic powers wandering their neighborhood, and just had to learn more anyway they could.

Interviews, rumors, gossip, the tabloid had it all and boasted about having it first. It rode the high for months until monsters had become common place, and thus, uninteresting and no longer news worthy. Just like that, the tabloid’s popularity crashed once again, desperately seeking the attention it once had, the fame it once held.

There was only once aspect of the monster resurgence the tabloid could not exploit- that being the little hero itself- an eleven-year-old child that somehow freed them all.

Protected by child exploitation laws and a monster mother with the face of a lamb but fangs of a lion, no reporter- local, national or otherwise- had ever been able to interview the little brat outside of the legal adoption settlements. And it’s not like reporters hadn’t tried. Press and paparazzi had followed them for months until restraining orders were involved, and monsters began “showing off” their magic to those who got too close. Eventually the journalists had learned to stay away, though not so much the lesson of “respect a minor’s privacy”, but rather “spears are sharp”, “bones make surprisingly effective clubs”, and “fire is hot”. Slowly but surely the number of cameras and tape recorders pointed towards the kid’s face had dwindled until, at last, no one even cared.

But all that had been years ago, back before the tabloid was in the red, and one particularly desperate newshound wasn’t under the constant threat of being laid off if they didn't find a new and sensational story each week.

The adopted child of literal formal royalty was well over eighteen now, and therefore fair game. And like any good celebrity stan, tabs had been kept and activity monitored, and there had been some out of place trends in the monster savior’s recent behavior. 

Something that, to the reporter, smelled like a headlining story.

The newshound switched through the open tabs across multiple social media sites. The savior of monsters had never been the most extraverted or attention seeking person, but many of their monster friends were, and as a consequence he had a decent, yet quiet presence on the internet, if only to stay in contact with the monsters who adored him. Nothing he had ever posted was ever personal or insightful to his daily life. It was mostly ‘likes’ and ‘faves’ and ‘retweets’ of things his friends has posted, but even those had been down with regularity up until halfway through the summer when suddenly everything just… stopped.

Complete radio silence. For months.

The newshound dug through the tweets and status updates of his friends, searching for a clue. There were a couple of vague posts about the monster hero’s wellbeing, a few asking where he’d gone, and one or two assuring that he was okay- he was just having some medical issues. But a couple investigations with every local doctor in town had revealed to the newshound that the monsters’ savior hadn’t seen a single physician and wasn’t even registered in any of their databases.

Fall rolled around, and the community college that had excitedly boasted about being his preferred pick for higher education stood around awkwardly on that first day of the semester when he failed to show. Many interviews with his professors later admitted his mind was elsewhere that first quarter, and his suffering grades reflected that. Most everyone said “it wasn’t his fault”, “his grades were bad because he wasn’t used to the workload yet”, “he’d get better after the first semester”.

But no one ever saw him go to study groups or tutors. He never stuck around campus much at all those first few weeks. But a few sharp eyes did say they noticed one thing out of place from this quiet reserved kid.

He had started taking frequent trips to Mt. Ebott.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Chara and Frisk as genderneutral has become so natural to me that intentionally gendering them feels weird and wrong. I hate that I'm doing this. Also, there's a small time disconnect between the first and second "parts" of the story (where the page breaks happen). The second halves are a couple of months in the past and should catch up with the first halves around... chapter 3 or 4.
> 
> anyway, I'm gonna do something different and update chapters every Tuesday and Friday until I finish. See you next week~


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you know, i've heard of "no shave november", but if I'm honest with you, this was my first year ever hearing of "no nut november" and you should be glad, because if I knew no nut november was a thing before I wrote this, I would have posted this _way_ earlier. 
> 
> You're welcome.
> 
> (also, if you're subscribed to this series, mind telling me if you're getting the emails? I'm not entirely sure if alerts go out when I post a new chapter from the Draft feature as opposed to updating via the plain old Add Chapter button)

“I thought of something.” Chara announced out of the blue that evening. “Well, two things actually.”

Frisk looked up from their computer screen. At first, they didn’t know what Chara was talking about, until they saw the intense gleam in their eyes and then they suddenly remember the proposition they had made about a week back. Frisk’s heart skipped a beat and they turned to give Chara their undivided attention. They almost thought Chara had quietly forgotten the deal they had made ten days ago.

“Okay,” Frisk said nervously. “What did you have in mind?”

“I want you to either suck me or fuck me,” Chara said with complete seriousness, as if daring Frisk to laugh.

Frisk blinked once.

“You… you mean like-”

“Oral or anal,” Chara bluntly filled in for them. “It seemed like the next reasonable step up from what we usually do. Definitely the tamest.”

“Y-yeah… okay.” Frisk agreed.

“You sound uncertain,” Chara said. “If what I suggested is too intense, we could do something else-”

“No, I’m… I said I’m willing to try and I meant it. It’s just that… that’s a lot of close contact between body parts. And I’m kind of worried about the hygienics of it all.”

“I’m one step ahead of you,” Chara said, and crouched down on their knees to pull something out from under their bed. “Catch.”

Frisk caught the small paper box and read the brand name in big bold print. Their eyebrows furrowed.

“Chara, when did you buy condoms?”

Chara shrugged. “What? Do you think I stay inside all day while you’re at class?”

“Yes. Because you do.”

“Well..! Sh-shut up!” Chara stuttered, though there was a good-natured smile on their face.

“Are you sure these will fit me?” Frisk asked, looking over the back of the box to read the dimensions. “We aren’t exactly the same size.”

“Oh, I’m sure we can find one you’ll find comfortable.” Still kneeling by their bed, Chara pulled out a shoebox and displayed it to Frisk.

Frisk’s eyes went wide and their jaw dropped at Chara’s condom stash. The box was full to bursting and contained a wide assortment of brands.

“Why do you have so many different kinds?” They asked in a harsh whisper.

“For many reasons,” Chara explained. “Mostly because it helps me reduce the time it takes to clean up.” Chara got to their feet. “And not all condoms are created equal. Some come pre-lubed, some offer differing textures, and many are made from different materials. Refresh my memory- you don’t have a latex allergy, right?”

“Not that I’m aware of?” Frisk said a little irked that Chara hadn’t told them about their condom collection sooner. All the old socks permanently stained… All the paper towels… wasted! “I’m pretty sure I’ve used latex gloves in my biology lab with no issue.”

“Good to know. We can always test-run a variety and find out which ones work best for you before we try anything together.”

“Right now?” Frisk asked. “Were you planning on doing this today?”

“Well, I sure was hoping so.” Chara knitted their brow. “I knew you’d be worried about the sanitation of it all, so I even did a quick enema for your sake. I’m clean _now_ but I might not be in an hour or two.”

“Oh. Which… which of your two ideas did you want to do first?” Frisk asked. 

Chara shook their head. “That’s your decision to make. I’m ready for either, but we’ll do whichever one you feel more comfortable with.”

Frisk shifted their eyes to the floor and tried to assess the pros and cons of each, but found it difficult to think under pressure. Their self-righteous confidence that had propelled them last week had silently drained away after the initial confrontation and they weren't feeling as bold any more now that they had a chance to calm down. Geez, they wish Chara hadn’t sprung this on them so fast, but… they did promise they’d do whatever Chara asked so they couldn’t back out now, but they wouldn’t even have time to mentally prepare-

“I… I can’t decide,” Frisk said apologetically. “Can we, uh, flip a coin?”

“Sure,” Chara agreed, and went searching their desk. A minute later they held up a quarter to Frisk. “Heads- you give me head, tails- you get my tail.”

Chara dropped the quarter into Frisk’s hand. 

“Okay,” Frisk stammered, balancing the quarter on their thumb. “Here goes nothing.”

The quarter sang as it flips through the air, turning end over end. With a deft hand, Frisk caught the coin in their palm and slapped it on the back of their wrist. Slowly they lifted their hand and reveal the outcome. It’s tail-side up.

“Ah, tails never fails,” Chara quoted, before looking at Frisk. They didn’t seem thrilled.

“You know, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Chara reminded them.

“No, I can do it,” Frisk reassured them, though their voice lacked assurance. “I said… I said I was willing to try anything you wanted. To prove that we’re equals.”

“Okay... If you say you’re ready, then I believe you." Chara said to prove their trust. "Let’s get the room ready, shall we?”

Frisk drew the curtains shut. Chara made sure to turn down the AC. Frisk locked the bedroom door and Chara spread a towel out on the bed. They helped each other undress, neither saying a word as they strip, deafened by the sound of their own hearts beating in their ears from nerves and excitement.

Frisk sat cross-legged on Chara’s bed as Chara presented their shoebox of condoms between them. Chara raised an eyebrow at Frisk.

“Have you ever put on a condom before?”

“You know the answer to that.” Frisk frowned.

“Hey, I don’t know what you do at college all day!” they joked.

Frisk shook their head in good nature. “Why do you ask? Is there a method to it?”

“Actually there is,” Chara said in a sultry tone, shifting closer to Frisk’s side until their shoulders touched. “If they’re not put on right they could slip off or tear in the middle of your fun. That’s why finding one that fits just right is so important.” Chara slipped their hand under Frisk’s arm and slid their fingers down their abs until they reached Frisk’s shaft. “But first things first, you gotta get hard.”

Frisk exhaled through their nostrils, long and slow, and gently closed their eyes, melting under Chara’s rhythm. They had grown familiar to Chara’s cold but soft hands, and after almost two weeks without them, they hadn’t realized how much they craved Chara’s touch.

Chara paused just long enough to get some lube, taking in the sight of Frisk’s throbbing cock with hungry anticipation. Just knowing that it would soon be _inside_ them made Chara’s own dick ache with impatience. Reluctantly, Chara pulled away when Frisk was fully erect and Frick almost groaned in complaint before they were handed a soft tape measure. 

“Tell me your length and girth and I’ll find you some potential choices,” Chara commanded, and Frisk did as they were told, rattling off the measurements as Chara sifted through their stash. 

“Okay, we can try one of these three for starters,” Chara said, displaying three wrapped packages. “Option A comes pre-lubed and has a contour shape. Option B is ultra-thin and ensures a snug fit. Option C claims it’s extra durable and chemical-free. Which do you want to try first?”

Frisk looked at the three small square packages, each indistinguishable in their eyes.

“What do you recommend?” They asked.

“I, personally, like the thin ones.” Chara said, pointing to the middle packet. “They feel like they’re not even there.”

“But if it’s ultra-thin and snug, isn’t it more likely to break?”

“That could happen if you’re too rough,” Chara shrugged. “But as long as you go slow and use enough lube, you’ll be fine. Taking your time and using extra lubricant is recommended for anal anyway.”

“Alright, let’s start with that one, then.” Frisk nodded, and Chara handed them the wrapper before picking out a condom of their own.

“Okay, great. Now watch what I do…”

With the diligence of a teacher, Chara showed Frisk which way was the correct side to place on the head, how you should pinch the tip and roll the latex down instead of pull, and how it should be properly removed when they were done. Frisk listened attentively, mimicking Chara’s actions, and just like that they were wrapped up and ready to go.

“Alright,” Chara purred, leaning back on their bed. “Next _I_ gotta get all lubed up.”

Frisk watched politely as Chara began to grease themselves when a thought hit their mind.

“Hey Chara, is silicone lube safe for condoms?”

“Nice observation,” Chara hummed as they fingered themselves with their ring finger. “Depends on what condom you’re using. There _are_ silicone condoms out there, but the one’s we’re wearing are latex and they’re safe to mix.” Chara added in their pointer finger and began to scissor them to spread themselves loose. “Latex’s biggest weakness is oil, like vegetable or olive oil, but you probably shouldn’t be using those to begin with since they’re primary purpose is to be used for cooking and not as lube.”

When they think they’ve stretched enough, Chara pulled out their fingers and wiped them on the towel. “Okay, that aught’a be enough.”

“R-ready?” Frisk’s voice hitched and their heart began to beat in double time.

“Yep. All warmed up and cleaned out, with a towel just in case. You?”

“I’m… I’m ready,” Frisk confirmed, and moved into position, sitting on their feet with their knees to the mattress. 

Chara spread their legs wide as Frisk lined themselves up.

“Alright, now you just gotta, sorta… push it in,” Chara said lightly brushing Frisk’s arm.

Frisk looked slightly uncertain when Chara’s ass greets them with resistance, but Chara encouraged them to keep going. Chara, meanwhile, tried to concentrate on relaxing, flexing their muscles to allow Frisk in, but it was easier said than done. Frisk had noticeably more girth than the butt plugs they had played with, and no tapered point to help ease their way in. It was almost all or nothing right from the get go, and if Chara was being honest with themselves, they weren’t entirely sure if they would be able to handle it.

Too determined to quit, though, Chara reached down and helped guide Frisk into a better angle, and at last, with a little persuasion Frisked managed to slip past Chara’s entrance.

Chara sucked in a long breath through gritted teeth.

“You alright?” Frisk asked in concern.

“Yeah, just… lemme get used to it first,” their voice cracked as they clenched and unclenched their glutes.

Frisk placed a hand on either side of Chara’s hips, trying to take in the new feelings as well. Chara was unbelievably tight and surprisingly hot, unlike the well-worn and loved fleshlight they had grown to know so well. They could feel an array of muscles flex and strain around their head, random and wonderful.

“Okay… I think I’m ready to continue,” Chara grunted. “Try easing in more.”

“Okay,” Frisk mumbled and began to lean forward. They’re met with more refusal at once as Chara’s body simply bends with Frisk’s, not allowing them to go any deeper and their body hair was beginning to pinch and pull uncomfortably, like a horrible wax job “Ah, I think I’ve hit a snag.”

“Keep going, you’ll get past it.” Chara assured them, showering them with gentle praise.

Frisk slowly increased the pressure, but to no avail. They can feel Chara tensing around them, trying to pull them in further but the friction between both their skins simply proved too great.

Nearly pressing all their weight in, Frisk was just about to request more lube when finally something slips.

Resistance lost all at once, Frisk had no time to catch themselves and found themselves plunging down to the hilt with full force.

“AH! FUCK!” Chara shouted with surprise and their back arches in shock. Screwing their eyes shut, Chara bit their tongue, waiting for the pain to pass. Above them, they felt Frisk go completely ridged in horror.

“Chara?” Frisk’s petrified voice asked.

“I’m okay.” Chara choked through clenched teeth. “Just… caught off guard.”

When Frisk doesn’t move, Chara cracks open one eye, only to find Frisk starting down at them with absolute panic on their face.

“I… I didn’t like that…” they whispered, their voice quivering on the edge of tears. “That sounded like it hurt.”

Chara swallowed, unsure what to say. It had hurt, yes, just a little, but if they told Frisk that they’d blame themselves, and Chara couldn’t allow that. But before Chara has a chance to explain they’re okay, Frisk lowers their head and leans back.

“Can… can we stop?”

“Y… yeah, of course.” Chara said after a heartbeat. “Just… pull out slowly.”

Frisk couldn’t meet Chara’s eyes as they carefully extracted themselves, and Chara couldn’t help but sigh in a mixture of relief and disappointment when they disconnect. Frisk flinched at the sound and excused themselves to the bathroom.

“Wait, Frisk-” Chara started. Frisk stopped at the doorway and turned back to them, but when Chara could only stare at them blankly they averted their gaze and left the room. A moment later they hear the sound of squeaking pipes as Frisk undoubtedly started a shower.

“Ah, good going you fucking idiot,” Chara grumbled to themselves, pushing their palms into their eyes until they saw spots, and fell back on the bed. “You clearly saw they weren’t entirely sure about this right from the start. Why’d you have to push them when they weren’t ready?”

‘ _…Because if you didn’t, then they would’ve accused you of babying them, and not seeing them as an equal..._ ’ Chara argued with themself. 

“Why did you have to fucking rush it? Couldn’t you have stretched a bit more? Or used more lube like you’re always harping on about? This could have been so easily avoided. This is all your fault.”

They hear the water shut off just as they finish their stint of self-loathing. They so desperately wanted to say something when Frisk returned through the doorway, but nothing comes to mind. Instead, they grabbed a change of clothes and head to the bathroom under a cloud of guilt. Sighing in defeat, Chara started up the shower, keeping it on the cold setting. They discard their condom without much fanfare, but don’t really feel like washing up. 

Sooner or later Chara would have to confront Frisk, and sooner or later they’d have to talk about what happened. Sure, they could both just pretend like things hadn’t ended on a sour note and just let the matter drop, but Chara knew they’d both be replaying the moment back in their minds for the rest of the night, internalizing their thoughts, overthinking what they did, what they should have done instead, or could have done better, and Chara knew without a shadow of a doubt that this would not be a good way to end the day.

Above all else they knew they needed to communicate with Frisk, clear the air and set the record straight, or risk shattering that foundation of trust and understanding upon which they had built the basis of… whatever their relationship was. If they didn’t say _something_ and ignored the incident like it had never happened, then that would lead to future doubt and second guessing, and that was dangerous.

Talking through it would be hard, but silence was a death sentence.

Closing their eyes, they rewind their thoughts. Their knee-jerk reaction had wanted them to blurt out “it’s okay,” “it’s not your fault”, “don’t worry about it.” Which were basically, all the things Frisk _didn’t_ want to hear after being so adamant about not wanting to be babied, which left Chara stuck in a corner, unable to say anything at all. Despite the statements being true, it really wasn’t Frisk’s fault, but Chara knew if they said these things directly Frisk wouldn’t believe them, or worse, Frisk would think Chara was coddling them again. For a hot second they considered siding with Frisk to express their sympathy, but they quickly toss the idea, not wanting to encourage Frisk’s self-deprecation, and worse, not wanting to tell a lie.

Running out of options, Chara thought harder. Surely there could be something they could say that wouldn’t condescend Frisk nor encourage their self-flagellation. There had to be _something_ they could say to make Frisk understand that it wasn’t their fault, and if Frisk would just _listen_ to them, they’d see Chara had everything under control all along and-

Half way through their train of thought, Chara jerked upright in horror- suddenly acutely aware of, not exactly what they were thinking, but just _how_ they were thinking; Playing out conversations in their head to predict the most favorable outcome, trying to find the right dialogue to elicit their desired response.

Heart racing, they struggle to swallow the vile lump in their throat and force themselves to calm.

No… no, what they were doing now _wasn’t_ like last time when Chara had coerced _him_ to keep bringing buttercups as they lay dying in bed. They wanted Frisk to understand they weren’t in the wrong, and wanting to console Frisk was not manipulation when there was no ulterior motive, they remind themselves, no matter how much it felt like it was in their state of overthinking. They wanted to _help_ Frisk, nothing more. Nothing more…

Knowing they can’t shower forever, Chara reluctantly shut off the water and toweled off with a sigh. Frisk was already in bed when Chara returned to the room. The covers were pulled back on the right side, a mutually understood invitation for Chara to join them, although Frisk faced away towards the left wall. If Chara hadn’t known Frisk as well as they did, their posture might have almost seemed passive-aggressive. But Chara did know better. They could tell from the tenseness of their shoulders and the rigidity of their body that Frisk wasn’t angry- they were afraid.

Silently, Chara crawled into bed beside them and tried to get comfortable. It’s now or never, they realize. They need to say something or else they’ll burn the bridge before they’ve had a chance to cross it, but even now they have no idea what to say or where to start.

They draw a breath and look over at Frisk. Frisk… the one they treasured, the one they valued most of all, the one they would do anything for… and suddenly they find the words they were looking for all along.

“Hey Frisk?” Chara said quietly, though it still sounded too loud in the tense bedroom air.

Frisk “Hms?” an acknowledgement without looking at them.

“I just wanted to say… thank you… for trying, and more importantly thank you for letting me know you wanted to stop.”

With an audible breath, Frisk rolled over and finally faced Chara, though their expression is guilt-ridden.

“I’m sorry,” Frisk whispered. “I said I could handle it, but I chickened out. Guess you were right about me being delicate.”

“Frisk, no,” Chara stressed. They would not let Frisk blame themselves for this. “I never meant to insinuate that I think lesser of you because you’re careful and like to do things at a slow pace. Your gentleness is one of things I like about you most. I’m so sorry if I made you feel that way…”

Frisk raised their arm to pull Chara in closer, but stopped short, hovering over their waist. 

“May I?” they asked just to be safe. Chara responded by sliding close enough so that their bodies were touching, and Frisk sighed in acceptance, lowering their arm and holding Chara tight in their embrace. Chara sighed in return, feeling the tension drain away at last. 

Things were going be okay.

* * *

It wasn’t illegal to go to Mt. Ebott by any means, in fact it had become quite the tourist attraction for a while after the monster emancipation, but had no one found the monster hero’s frequenting of the place unusual? And he wasn’t the only one either. The newshound spotted the former king, queen, captain of their royal guard and royal scientist all making reoccurring trips to the mountain as they kept track of who entered and who exited. 

The first few articles the newshound published about the strange activity did not rock any boats or pique any interests. It was clear no one really cared about a kid who wasn’t on social media 24/7 or wasn’t doing too hot in their first semester of college, or what a bunch of monsters were doing going back to their old place of residence.

But the reporter knew better. There was a story here and the newshound was determined to sniff it out.

And then one day, something NEW came out of the mountain, bundled tightly in blankets and looking more dead than alive judging by the gauntness of its face, something the reporter never expected; another human.

So startled by this nugget of information, the reporter nearly fell out of the tree they had been camping in, their binoculars tumbling to the forest floor. No longer was the monster hero’s behavior curious- it was downright suspicious. Scrambling out of the tree, the newshound raced back to the printing press. They had an article to write.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here, enjoy this little fact that's irrelevant to everything while tumblr crashes and burns around us- I have two rules when it came to naming the stories in this series;  
> 1) Disregarding the words "A" and "The", The first word in each fic had to start with a different letter of the alphabet  
> 2) The name of the fic had to be vaguely related with the motif of the fic (example, Ids and Egos is a reference to Freud's theory of the unconcious mind)
> 
> I couldn't think of anything pretentious enough for this fic, so I saved it as "Place Holder" when I typed it up, hoping something would come to me, but nothing ever did, so I just stuck with the temporary name. (Funnily enough, the movie High School Musical has a similiar origin story. go figure!)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally some actual smut in this porn fic. It's about time.

Frisk opened their eyes in the pitch black and searched for their bedside clock in the dark. The dull red numbers read 12:47am. They sighed and carefully sat up as not to disturb the body slumbering next to them. 

The anxious guilt that had plagued them earlier had long since left when Chara came to bed, but still they could not sleep, their mind too busy doing an endless in-depth frame-by-frame analyzation of the day’s earlier events.

Frisk wasn’t afraid to admit they had messed up and ended up having a bad first time with the carnal experience. Although Chara hadn’t minded, Frisk had, and the failure they had felt had cut deep. They guessed they weren’t ready for such a big step after all…

Chara hadn’t forgiven them for there was nothing to forgive when no wrong had been done, and only now did Frisk realize how thankful they were Chara hadn’t tried to brush off the incident with empty assurances and hollow sympathies. But still, they felt they had to do _something_ , though it would not be to prove a point to Chara. Chara already knew. They had to do this for their own self-approval.

Frisk watched Chara’s sleeping face for a bit- their heart warm and light, before reaching for their phone on their desk at the end of the bed. They felt lewd for doing this, but their desire to make it up to Chara had trumped all other doubts.

Turning away so the light of their phone wouldn’t wake their sleeping partner, Frisk opened a new tab and began to do some research.

\--

“I wanna try again.”

Chara stopped scrolling on their computer and turned towards Frisk. “What?”

“I said I wanna try again.” Frisk repeated. “To make up for yesterday. We didn’t accomplish anything, so I want a do-over. Is that okay with you?”

“Of course! You’re just full of surprises lately, aren’t you?” Chara grinned. But their eyebrows knit. “Were you… planning on doing this today? “’Cause if so, I’ll need to go to the drugstore first and get another enema-”

“Yes and no,” Frisk clarified, sitting on the corner of Chara’s bed. “I want to pleasure you again, but this time I wanted to try fellating you. No need for extensive prep this time.”

“You and your big dumb words,” Chara teased, but their eyes were sparkling with excitement.

“Hey, _you_ taught _me_ that word.”

“I know, I know.” Chara joked, spinning their computer chair around. “So did you want to do this _now_ or…?”

“We can start as soon as you take a shower,” Frisk said, but realizing they may have sounded a bit demanding, added; “If you don’t mind. Get yourself warmed up, but not _too_ warmed up, okay?”

Chara clicked their tongue twice, already on their feet and waving finger guns at Frisk as they walked backwards out of the room. Seconds later, Frisk heard the shower running.

With Chara busy, Frisk got to work preparing the bed. The towel Chara had laid out yesterday was still in place and Frisk left it. It wouldn’t hurt to have an extra layer to keep the sheets clean on the off chance things got messy. A quick search under the bed frame revealed Chara’s shoebox of condoms which Frisk retrieved and placed on the comforter.

Frisk looked over the scene, their mind wandering. It was only just occurring to them now that, despite there being two beds in the room for some time now, Chara’s was rarely used for sleeping. Toriel might have suspected otherwise; Chara’s bedsheets were washed just as frequently as Frisk’s if not more so, but Frisk didn’t know whether to feel amused or disturbed that they and Chara had unintentionally created a spot solely dedicated to salacious acts, and was used with startling regularity.

Choosing not to dwell on it too much, Frisk pushed the thought from their mind and began to strip down, neatly folding their shirt and shorts and placing them on the edge of their bed for later.

“Aw, don’t tell me you started the show without me,” Chara said coyly as they came back into the room, steam clinging to them like a wispy cloud. They wore nothing but a towel around their waist and their body glistened, still damp from their bath.

“Do you want me start over?” Frisk offered, trying (and failing) not to stare at Chara’s lithe figure.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Chara let their towel drop, and kicked it towards the closest corner. Frisk couldn’t help but notice they were already starting to get hard. “I got back just in time for the best part.”

“Take a seat then,” Frisk hummed as they pulled off their underwear. When Frisk had removed all their clothes, they joined Chara on the mattress.

“So did you have something in mind planned, or…?” Chara broached, hugging their legs and resting their chin on their knees.

“I had some ideas,” frisk said, thinking of all the guides and pointers they had looked up last night. “But if there’s anything more specific you want me to do, I’m all ears. Um… is… there? Something you prefer, that is?”

Chara hummed an “I don’t know” with a slight shake of their head and shrug of their shoulders. They kept their wide eyes fixed on Frisk and wore a loopy smile that threated to burst into laughter. “This may come as a shock to you, but I’ve never had a blow job before. I don’t know what I like yet.”

Frisk blinked, genuinely taken aback by the statement. With Chara’s unapologetically liberal views on such matters, Frisk had assumed Chara would just sort of… _now_ what they wanted. They had completely forgotten Chara had only had their adult body for only five or so months now. 

Suddenly the task ahead seemed a little more daunting than before, but Frisk was determined not to be intimidated. In the light of this revelation, it occurred that they would be Chara’s _first_ , which both humbled and overwhelmed them. Chara had been many of Frisk’s “Firsts”. First to stand up for them, first to praise them, first to defend them, first to call them beautiful… first to touch them…

But now, between the two of them, Frisk would be one of Chara’s first. The thought was oddly comforting and even gave them a strange sense of pride.

Sure, they predicted things might be a little clumsy and unpolished, but Chara had no expectations (not like Chara would get mad if Frisk fumbled anyway) and Frisk had new found determination to give Chara an unforgettable experience that would stick with them for the rest of their life. They would not only blow Chara’s dick, but also their _mind_. 

“That’s alright. We can wing it,” Frisk nodded.

“Cool. So what do you want _me_ to do? Stand up? Sit on the edge of the bed? Lay down? What?”

Frisk mulled it over. They figured Chara would want to watch since they were voyeuristic like that, but Chara standing or sitting would mean they’d be towering over and looking down on them while Frisk worked, and they weren’t sure if they liked the mental image.

“I want to lean you back on the bed,” Frisk said slowly, gauging Chara’s reaction. “And then some foreplay.”

Chara uncrossed their arms and legs and scooted over into Frisk’s lap. Draping their arms around Frisk’s shoulders.

“As you wish,” They said invitingly, wagging their eyebrows.

“Also, I know you just took a shower, but is it okay if we also use protection?” Frisk asked, tipping their head towards Chara’s shoebox. “I… don’t know how comfortable I am with the thought of you ejaculating in my mouth.”

“It’s always okay,” Chara said, riffling through the box. They pull out their choice, but before they can open it, Frisk gently touches their wrist.

“May I?” They asked.

“My, you’re spoiling me today,” Chara grinned devilishly, forfeiting the wrapper. “Be my guest, though you’ll have to get me completely hard, first.”

“Of course. And, hey, if I do anything that hurts or feels uncomfortable, you’ll say something, right?” Frisk asked, winding their arms around Chara’s back.

“Promise. Do you want a safe word? I know we aren’t doing anything dangerous, but it never hurts to have one.”

“How about plain old ‘stop’?”

“Works for me.”

“Thanks.” Frisk hugged Chara close, sliding one hand up to support their head and the other to the small of their spine as they slowly leaned forward, and whispered in their ear; “Prepare to be pampered.”

With utmost gentleness, Frisk laid Chara against the pillows. They steal a quick glance downward to assess Chara’s arousal only to find that they’re still at half-mast, which simply wouldn’t do. Frisk couldn’t proceed until Chara was fully erect and wrapped, but it was nothing a little convincing couldn’t fix. Frisk regarded Chara’s shaft. This was nothing mutual masturbation couldn’t solve, but that seemed cliché and predictable. Far too similar to what the two of them did on a regular basis. They couldn’t just go straight to the main event without an opening act to warm things up. 

Besides, they had all of Chara before them to explore and praise first, and that there was more than one way to get aroused. And Frisk had just remembered they were curious on how many kisses it would take to completely cover their body. Ah, there seemed like a good starting point.

Hunched over, supporting their weight on their shins, Frisk’s left hand stroked the side of Chara’s head as they lean their face in and lightly planted their lips at their jaw.

Chara gasped, their eyes going wide and fingers clawing into the sheets at the sudden contact, but slowly they began to unwind. Soon they started to sigh in bliss as Frisk began to work their way down. It’s all Frisk can do to keep from grinning like a loon, realizing that this is a first as well, this kissing, with Frisk claiming the title of First to press their lips on the other’s skin. They were first to kiss, and Chara first to _be_ kissed. Each peck is slow and light as Frisk went over their collarbone and ribs. They took a second to listen to the rapid-beating of Chara’s galloping heart, and paused a moment to lick their lips. Chara smelled like pine needles and tasted like soap, but it wasn’t a totally unpleasant combination. 

Frisk ghosted their fingertips across Chara’s abs as they continued downward. They gave extra attention to Chara’s naval, and patiently work their way along towards Chara’s happy trail, moving with the rise and fall of their stomach from all their flustered breathing.

Frisk stopped and assessed Chara again when they reach their thighs. They’re suitably hard now, and Frisk could feel themself threatening to rise as well, but they weren’t quite finished warming up just yet. It had taken Frisk twenty kisses to go form neck to hip. They still needed to know how many kisses across there were before they could make an educated estimate on the maximum number of kisses it would take to cover Chara entirely.

Sliding back up to Chara’s chest, Frisk tenderly smooched their left breast. Beneath their fingers, Frisk felt Chara’s skin erupt with goosebumps as they drew in a breath. Mentally they began to count.

One… two… three….

It only takes Frisk eight kisses until they reach Chara’s right breast, and they dared not to go any further, knowing how ticklish they were on their sides. They do the math and conclude it would take roughly one-hundred and sixty kisses to completely smother their partner.

Ah, but wait- that was just counting Chara’s front side, wasn’t it? That number would have to be doubled if they wanted to include the back, and more raw data would need to be taken if they wanted into include Chara’s arms and legs. They would be busy kissing for a while if they wanted to get the most accurate results.

But another once-over on Chara told Frisk they’d have to save that wish for another day. Chara was watching them expectantly with muzzy eyes, their cock ready and waiting, and Frisk was not one who engaged with prolonged taunting.

Sitting up, Frisk located Chara’s chosen condom and made a show of neatly tearing open the foil. With a dab of extra lube, Frisk carefully slid back Chara’s foreskin and rolled the condom on, earning them breathy sighs of contentment. 

Frisk gave Chara a few experimental strokes to ensure the condom was on securely, and watched Chara’s head lull back in pure pleasure. Their fingers twitch and dig into their thighs, yearning to touch themselves, but fighting the instinct not to. When Chara’s nails leave little red crescents in their skin, Frisk can’t help but frown. They hadn’t thought of what Chara should do with their hands.

“Hey,” Frisk said lowly to draw Chara’s attention. “You can hold on to me if you like. Just don’t pull my hair, please?”

Chara nodded compliantly and rested their palms on Frisk’s shoulders, mindful of their fingernails. 

Shifting onto their stomach, Frisk wrapped their arms underneath he bends in Chara’s knees and reached their hand over Chara’s legs to hold them steady. They place one hand around the base of Chara’s shaft and the other on Chara’s inner thigh as they moved into position. Dimly they realize that they weren’t as nervous as they were yesterday. They certainly felt more prepared in any case. No longer feeling as squeamish and armed with their arsenal of tips and tricks they had learned.

Taking one last preparatory breath, Frisk curled their lips over their teeth, leaned in, and drew the tip of Chara’s cock into their mouth.

Chara’s response was immediate, reacting to Frisk with helpless moans of bliss. They squeezed and un-squeezed their fingers, careful not to pinch the skin on Frisk’s shoulders. Frisk hardly registered it, lost in concentration.

Slowly, they worked their way down Chara’s shaft, increasing the suction in their cheeks as they went. Their tongue flexed and rolled, helping to guide Chara deeper and to keep constant pressure on their throbbing cock. Chara’s groans turned into whines when they hit the hard, rigid surface of Frisk’s palate.

‘ _Remember, the tongue is the strongest muscle in the body,_ ’ one of the suggestions had said on the how-to guide Frisk had read last night. ‘ _Don’t forget to use it._ ’

Frisk only got half-way down Chara’s dick before they slowly pull back up, creating a heavenly vacuum in their mouth as they do. They stopped at the head, and press the hard tip of their tongue to the frenulum.

Chara’s entire body shutters and they don’t seem to know whether to gasp or sigh, making their breathing go funny and quick. Their hands shift form Frisk’s shoulders to scalp- a wordless plea not to stop just yet. Frisk complied, patiently going down on them again, much to Chara’s relief.

Frisk set the pace to a slow and steady rhythm, gentle as a rocking cradle, pushing and pulling back and forth. Each time they go down, they challenge themselves to go a little further, drawing more and more of Chara in with each bob of their head. If the curling of Chara’s fingers and toes were anything to go by, Frisk seemed to be doing something right.

With an extra deep inhale, Frisk inched their way down Chara’s shaft until they hit the base. The held themselves there for a moment, sucking on the condom and rubbing the flat of their tongue against Chara’ raphe as Chara let loose a jumbled waterfall of stumbling praise and babbling encouragement.

“ _God_. Frisk you -hah- are s-simply amazing and -ah!- wonderful, and -pleasedon’tstop- you’re so beautiful, oh my god, you’re beautiful, keep -huff- keep doing that, yes do that again.”

At one point Chara bucked, much to Frisk’s surprise. They didn’t gag, but the sudden thrust did throw them off their tempo. As retaliation, Frisk removed their hands out from under Chara’s legs and brought them in to keep Chara’s hips pinned securely to the bed. Now trapped beneath their weight, Chara could only pant and moan as Frisk continued to bob up and down at a torturously slow pace for minutes on end.

When their elbows and shoulders started to become sore, Frisk came to a pause and sat up, breathing just as hard as Chara. They took a moment to admire their work, smugly satisfied at how disheveled Chara’s lust-drunk expression had become.

‘I _did that_ ,’ They thought to themselves with an odd sense of accomplishment. It was weirdly rewarding to see Chara, who was always so poised and collected, come completely undone by nothing more than Frisk’s mouth.

“I-is that it?” Chara asked, their voice cracking with anxious disappointment. “Y-you’re done already?”

“Nah,” Frisk reassured them. Their brow and chest were studded with droplets of sweat. “Just taking a breather to stretch out my back.”

“Okay,” Chara sighed in relief, throwing their arms over their head. “What you were doing was so good. I never wanted you to stop.”

Frisk hummed, stretching out their left shoulder. If they kept going at their current pace that might very well end up being the case. Frisk knew from experience that Chara took a long time to reach climax and they had been at this for several minutes already. But Frisk had read several pointers on how to make someone cum fast and hard while giving a blow job, and having encountered no hiccups so far, they were feeling particularly bold enough to try them.

“Hey Chara,” Frisk asked carefully. “How would you feel… if I fingered you as well?”

Chara’s eyebrows arched. “You seriously want to try that? I mean, I’m totally down with it, but I’m not cleaned out or anything. D’you wanna risk the possibility of encountering crap?”

“I’d like to use another condom on my fingers, if that’s alright with you.”

“Of course it’s alright,” Chara assured them, and listed off a few brands for Frisk to try. “Just be sure to keep it pinched tight with your thumb so it doesn’t get stuck inside me. Oh, and lube of course. Never forget to use enough lube.”

Frisk dug through Chara’s shoebox and found one of Chara’s recommendations- a brand that ran for those smaller than average made from thick latex. They wasted no time opening the packet and slid the condom onto their middle finger, folding it over twice to keep it secure. With their right hand, Frisk reached for the lube, making certain Chara could see them squirting out a lavish amount into their palm to work with.

Making a fist, they coated the lube across their fingertips. 

“Ready?” Frisk asked with a voluptuous grin. If Chara had planned to say something cheeky, they couldn’t remember what it was when Frisk fixes them with that sultry stare.

Instead they exhale a lustful “yes”, all sense of composure practically lost.

“Lift up your legs for me?” Frisk requested and Chara obliged, allowing Frisk to hook them over their shoulders. With their ass more easily exposed, Frisk slowly dragged their pointer fingers down the cleft of their cheeks from tailbone to taint, leaving behind a shimmering streak of oil.

Chara crossed their ankles on Frisk’s back and struggled to keep their breathing even. Their skin breaks out with a fresh wave of goosebumps as Frisk ran their hand over Chara again, this time a bit deeper with their middle finger spreading more of the lube and lightly brushing over Chara’s hole. 

They repeat the process a third time and then a fourth with their ring and pinky finger, rubbing a little harder each time they pass over Chara’s entrance until the majority of the lube had been transferred. Frisk figured they’ve kept Chara waiting long enough when they begin to hear Chara murmur quiet swears about them being a “fucking tease” and even quieter begs to “just stick it in already, _please_ ”.

With Chara’s legs still draped over their shoulders, Frisk slid back onto their elbows. Their right hand gently grabs Chara’s shaft and angles it towards their mouth, while the middle finger of their left positions itself accordingly. Then, with tag-teamed coordination, Frisk brought themselves down on Chara for a second round.

Chara groaned, straining and flexing as Frisk gingerly pushed the tip of their finger inside them and began to delicately probe around their inner walls up to the first knuckle. Meanwhile Frisk’s mouth was busy giving some loving attention to the tip of Chara’s dick, their tongue playfully flicking over the slit, smearing the precum that beaded beneath the latex barrier between them.

Slowly, methodically, Frisk synced the rhythm of their finger with the rhythm of their nodding head, each working its way deeper inside Chara’s ass or down Chara’s shaft.

Frisk’s roving finger errantly poked about, reaching deeper and deeper, knuckle by knuckle on the search for something specific, until at last they manage to brush up against a hard lump of tissue that turned Chara’s breathy whimpers into watery moans.

“Gaaah, holy shit. Frisk do that again,” Chara rasped, their eyelids suddenly too heavy to open. 

“Frisk rubbed their finger in small circles against Chara’s prostate, practically making Chara melt with delight.

“God, Frisk, I can’t- I can’t keep quiet anymore,” Chara heaved. “What- Whatever you do, please- don’t stop. I-I promise… I promise any noise I make is because it feels _incredible_ and not because it hurts so please don’t stop, okay? You’re so good. Everything about you is so good.”

They spoke quickly, rambling to suppress the whimpers and cracks in their voice. Frisk hummed a confirmation without taking their lips off Chara’s shaft and continued to work.

Chara wriggled and squirmed, switching from digging their heels into the mattress to crossing their shins across Frisk’s back. Their fingers dug into Frisk hair, trembling with the effort to not grab Frisk’s head and hold them there when Frisk lips kissed them at the hilt. Frisk maintained a constant pressure on that sweet knot of tissue inside them, stroking it from every angle they could reach and frying a dozen circuits in Chara’s brain in the process. If Frisk kept it up, they wouldn’t last much longer at this rate. Their dick ached to release in that hot, wet cavity of Frisk’s mouth.

“H… hey, h-hold up a second?” Chara’s voice squeaked as they urgently tap Frisk on the Shoulder. “Can we p-pause for a minute?”

Frisk laboriously sat up, releasing Chara’s cock from their mouth with a pop.

“Something wrong? Was I being too rough?”

“No, no…. I’m alright. More than alright.” Chara blinked away the haze in their mind and finally managed to catch their breath. “I was just… getting close. Figured you’d want to stop before I ended up coming in your mouth and all.”

Frisk considered this, weighing their options. They could just finish Chara off with a simple jerk off right then and there, but wouldn’t that be a bit of a down grade at this point? They wanted Chara’s first blow job to be unmatched, and everything had been going smoothly so far…

“Thanks for the heads up, but I think I can handle it.” Frisk decided.

“Are you absolutely sure?” Chara asked in genuine concern, propping themselves up on their elbows. “Because you don’t have to force yourself just to make me happy if you’re not comfortable.”

“I think I’ll be fine since you’re wearing a condom.” Frisk explained to Chara. “I appreciate the warning, though. There was one more thing I wanted to try before we finish.”

Carefully extracting their digits, Frisk re-wrapped the condom to include their pointer finger and gave themselves a touch up of lubricant.

“From here until the end, don’t try to hold yourself back, okay?”

Chara managed to nod twice before they felt their body go limp with bliss as Frisk inserted two fingers into them this time, gently spreading Chara a little looser to give them more leverage when they returned to massaging their prostate. 

Meanwhile Frisk’s other hand switched to cupping Chara’s balls, which they lovingly kissed before going back to swallowing their cock whole.

With extreme tenderness, Frisk fondled Chara’s sack- a third layer of euphoria to add to their fingering and mouth. Chara’ voice responded instantaneously, unleashing throaty whines and garbled whimpers as they struggled to think straight. They were overly cautious, daring to do no more than a light squeeze or pull on Chara’s testes, knowing how quick pleasure could switch to pain with such sensitive bits.

“Ah! Frisk, I’m so close,” Chara warned as their breathing became harsh and loud. “I’m so close, oh my God, I’m gonna cum at any moment-”

Frisk doubled down on their efforts, caressing Chara’s sweet spot with both fingers, giving their sack an extra squeeze, and increasing the vacuum in their mouth with as much force as the could maintain.

“Frisk! I’m-!” Chara’s words get cut off with a guttural cry as they climax. Between their jaws, Chara’s cock tenses and pulsates. There’s a flash of heat as the first spurt of cum forces the condom to hit the roof of Frisk’s mouth, and then a warm swelling bulge against their tongue as Chara fills the latex wrapper with fresh hot seed.

Frisk retreats slowly- first removing their fingers, then uncapping Chara’s balls, and lastly releasing their dick before their teeth could accidentally break the swollen condom. Wiping their mouth on the back of their hand, they watched Chara’s cock give an impressive eight squirts into the reservoir, now hanging heavy like a pendulum. God, they doubted they’d ever stop being mystified by Chara’s ability to unleash such massive loads. No wonder they stashed so many condoms. They _did_ make clean up easier.

Exhausted and panting, Chara didn’t move from the bed for several heartbeats. They crack open an eye when they feel something heavy pressing down on their stomach. Frisk looks at them smugly, their hands resting on their laced fingers atop Chara's abdomen. Chara sighed in contentment and let their head fall back. They didn't mind the extra weight.

"Hey, Chara, I've been meaning to ask you, why do you say 'oh my god' if you're an aethist?" Frisk asked playfully.

It's a rhetorical question, Chara knew, just to poke fun, but they had an equally flippant answer. "I say it whenever I experience something _unbelieveable_." They quip.

Frisk chuckled and sat up, and got to work on cleaning up, carefully sliding the condom off of Chara's tender shaft.

“So how'd I do?” They asked conversationally, as they tied the condom off. "Satisfying?"

“Incredible,” Chara whispered. “Too good for words.”

“Really?” Frisk chuckled. “Because you certainly couldn’t stop talking near the end.”

Chara struggled to sit up, only to frown when they notice Frisk’s crotch. Frisk’s own dick, swollen and dripping, stood sadly neglected between Frisk’s legs.

“Uh-oh Looks like somebody’s feeling left out.”

Frisk blinked and looked down, following Chara’s line of sight.

“Oh, wow.” They say dumbfounded, as if just noticing their own erection for the first time. “Uh… I hadn’t even realized that happened. I was so focused on you.”

“Well, I guess this just means it’s your turn to be pampered,” Chara purred, patting the towel for Frisk to lie down.

“You don’t have to,” Frisk said, but didn’t put up any fight to Chara’s insistence. “This was all about pleasing you, remember?”

“True, but what if I told you I would be very pleased if you let me spoil you for a bit now? I just watched a great demonstration and would like to try it myself.”

“Well I _guess_ if that that’s what you want,” Frisk said, rolling their eyes, though their smile stayed light and good-natured. “But, ah, may I opt out of being fingered? It’s the only thing I’m not ready to try yet.”

“Absolutely,” Chara said, reaching for their shoebox and opening the lid. “Now, tell me which condom you prefer, and we can get down to business.”

* * *

A dying tabloid it may be, the Ebott Enquirer still had its loyal reader base of conspiracy theorists and middle aged housewives who religiously bought each issue like addicts who got their fix off of gossip. Boy, wouldn’t they feel like sleuths for following this story, updating weekly revealing more and more suspicious activity coming from the monster hero.

And, feeling like they were playing a big game of Clue, the reporter knew that these stay-at-home moms would inevitably bring up these rumors and weird activities to their friends to make polite off-hand conversation, who would then go on to tell their friends, spreading the news for them until people were curious enough to go digging for the source in a desperate attempt to learn more.

Wouldn’t the first of those eager snoopers feel proud of themselves this week, for the reporter had been watching the former queen’s household secretly but diligently, and had learned much about their interesting discovery.

The new addition to the family rarely left the house, but they were never seen far from the monster hero when they did. It was another human, uncertainly male or female from a glance, though far more feminine compared to the boy. The blatant PDA between the two, especially when they traveled with arms interlocked or fingers laced, was sure to raise eyebrows in a message that couldn’t be any clearer. Despite how infrequently this second human ventured into public, the reporter wondered why no other news source had commented on already.

But then again, what kind of tabloid journalist would the newshound be if they weren’t the one to break the story first? The employees of the Enquirer certainly wasn’t afraid to get their hands dirty, to tackle the nitty-gritty and report the stories other news outlets were too scared to comment on. Hell, the newshound practically had no choice if they wanted to keep bread on the table.

But it wasn’t like it was a hard task. The reporter could follow and track them both easily enough, taking photos while the two were blissfully unaware before slipping away unseen. The only challenging thing about their job was the actual news aspect. It was tricky to write “neutral” stories that sounded unbiased enough to let the interpretation lean either way, but still suggested the obvious answer. A journalist could never blatantly state their opinion on a piece or risk publishing “fake news”, however obvious the truth may seem to all who read and looked at the photos.

But with the overwhelming amount of evidence they’d gather so far, maybe this time they’d been the rules just little since these photos could barely be interpreted in any other way. Sure, a picture could say a thousand words, but theirs were all telling the same story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol, anybody interested in reading the notes I wrote on Chara and Frisk's sexualities waaay back when I first decieded to make this a series? No? To bad, I'm sharing anyway.
> 
> Chara: Hardcore gay af with a touch of furry. Likes to make noise. Hates dirty talk and insults but everything else is on the table. Ready to rut at all hours. show-er and prefers briefs. Smol and angry.
> 
> Frisk: Somewhere on the pan/demi scales (Panromantic Demisexual mostlikely) Literal puppy. Be nice to them once and they'll love you forever. Will cry if you say 'ouch'. Does not like butt stuff. grower and prefers boxers. Squishy and huggable.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did you know you could give kudos twice on a story?? Once if you're logged in, and once if you're logged out. Just something I learned recently~

In hindsight, it was an ordinary Tuesday when it happened. The week of midterms had just concluded and Frisk felt they deserved a bit of rest after studying late for nights on end by treating themselves to a little mindless television.

Chara joined them in the den, reading a library book and lounging on the sofa with their head on Frisk’s thigh and ankles on the unused armrest. Frisk flipped through the channels, hoping to stumble across anything interesting, but as was the universal rule for daytime television, the only half-decent thing on was reruns of old George Lopez episodes. 

When they couldn’t find anything good on TV (nor anything so horrendously awful that they’d watch just to laugh at it), Frisk shut off the TV and glanced down at Chara. It baffled them how Chara could read with such distracting lights and sound constantly playing in front of them. Frisk always needed absolute silence in order to concentrate. Even white noise could get too distracting at times. 

Frisk considered the idea of getting their own book to read to pass the time. They even had the prime candidate; a new release from one of their favorite authors had been gifted to them by Sans as a “Congrats on surviving finals” present last semester. He had even waited an hour in line at the book store to get it autographed by the writer. Frisk felt a little bad for not even starting it yet. Maybe now was the perfect time.

Ah, but in order to read the book, that would require them to get up and go get it first, and they didn’t particularly feel like moving from their comfortable position on the couch (and much less wanting to disturb Chara.) So instead Frisk chose to sit quietly and listen to their own thoughts… then decided to strike up small talk with Chara. They needed _something_ to fill the silence.

“So… is that book good?”

“’S decent,” Chara said.

“What’s it about?”

“Communistic military felines.” Chara said without a drop of sarcasm. “I am astounded how many books are in this series. When I was a kid, there were only, like, six at the time I died, and now they’re well over one hundred and fifty in the main series, and almost up to two hundred if you count all the super editions, field guides, novellas, and even mangas! I can’t comprehend how one person did all this!”

“I think I know which series you’re talking about,” Frisk said. “Wasn’t the author name just a cover? Weren’t there actually, like, three people who wrote the main books?”

“Oh yeah… that was their thing, wasn’t it?” Chara hummed. “You know that would explain how new stories are still being printed today, two hundred years down the line. Just cycle out your authors when they start to die, but pass on the rights and keep the pen name.”

“It also explains why you’re a furry.” Frisk said in jest.

“Hey!” Chara started, but then gave it some thought. “Actually, no, you’re right. That’s fair.”

Frisk chuckled. Their phone on the arm rest vibrated to alert them to a new text message. Frisk sighed and checked the notification. They’d been getting these texts for the better part of the afternoon now, all from their monster friends saying “congratulations!” and “heard you were in the news!” as well as several texts that were nothing but emojis of hearts and kissy faces.

Being in the newspaper was nothing new to Frisk, though it certainly was less frequent these days. But for the monsters it always seemed like something to get excited over when their favorite human was in the spotlight, whether the news was good or not. Unfortunately Frisk had no idea if the news story they were featured in _was_ noteworthy or not. There had been a lot of hype hinted towards them this morning, but so far no one thought it necessary to share their source.

The lock on the front door jostled and clicked as Toriel arrived home from school.

“Good afternoon, Frisk! Good afternoon, Chara!” She said cheerily. “Did you hear that you two were in the newspaper yesterday?”

At this, both Chara and Frisk gave Toriel their full attention. It was one thing for Frisk to be in the news, but Chara as well?

As if reading their thoughts, Toriel reached into her tote bag of teacher supplies and pulled out a small magazine. They’re not the headlining story, not even a full page spread. Toriel flipped to a dog-eared page, folding the cover back and handing it to her children to read for themselves.

It’s a small article, not even taking up a quarter of the page. There’s a fuzzy picture of Chara and Frisk walking hand in hand around the neighborhood, and a pixelated picture of them in the grocery store parking lot helping Toriel load groceries into her car, and a blurry photo of them sitting on some swings at the local playground.

The article itself was nothing scandalous. Just some vague comments making guesses about the two in the photos reading;

_”The new mystery human in the monster hero’s household has started to raise a few eyebrows around town. While Frisk has not made any public announcement about it on social media, anyone with working eyes can see he’s got a new lady friend on his arm. While it seems Frisk is trying to keep his new bae a secret from the world, his love-struck blindness has made him slip up, allowing him to reveal his softer side with his girl in public. Will these two stay a couple or is this just a fling? The Ebott Enquirer will keep you updated on all the latest news.”_

Chara can’t contain their laughter when they finish reading.

“Lady friend? Girl?” Still on their back, they reach for Frisk’s phone and open the front facing camera to look at themselves. “Am I really that effeminate? I thought I had a stronger chin than that. And how did they manage to take pictures this bad? Did they hold their phone camera up to a pair of binoculars? You could feed an entire third world country with all the grain from these pictures.”

Frisk handed the paper back to Toriel. “I’m kind of surprised they managed to take pictures of us at all,” They say slightly perturbed. “You hardly ever leave the house if you don’t want to. They must’ve been watching us for a while.”

“Hm, that is true,” Toriel sighed. “It is a broach in privacy, but at least the article isn’t saying anything slanderous about you two?”

“Depends if you consider the usage of incorrect pronouns as ignorance or intentional,” Chara shrugged. “Two hundred years of this shit and society _still_ can’t be decent enough to give us this.”

“Does it bother you?” Frisk asked. “We could probably get them to stop if we ask.”

“Eh, nah,” Chara shook their head. “I know what I am, and all the people who matter know what I am, so I don’t really care what they say about me. Besides, if you give these reporters any sort of attention, they’ll never leave you alone after that. If you ignore them it’ll die out on its own.”

“Chara is right, Frisk,” Toriel agreed. “If the media finds out it bothers you, they will just continue to provoke you for more reaction. We may not be able to fight the reporters directly, but we can advise our friends not to support this newspaper.”

“You think that will work?” Frisk asked hopefully.

“I know it will work,” Toriel assured them. “I may no longer be queen, but monsters will still listen to me if we ask them to stay away from this Ebott Enquirer.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

Toriel smiled, and went off to grade her student’s homework, and Chara went back to reading. Frisk tried to go back to watching TV, but their mind was still too fixated on the news article. They weren’t bothered by the fact that they and Chara had basically been “exposed”, per se. They weren’t ashamed to be seen with Chara, or hold their hand or hug them in public. They weren’t even upset at being misgendered.

No, the one thing from the article that had rubbed Frisk the wrong way was the fact the store had classified them and Chara as an item. A couple. In a relationship. Were they? Frisk had never really thought about it until that point, but now that someone had put a label on it, they weren’t sure how they felt. Hell, they and Chara had never established that they were even _dating_.

Frisk managed to stay silent for all of ten minutes before needing to air out their thoughts.

“Hey Chara…” Frisk said cautiously. “What… _are_ we?”

Chara looked up and gave Frisk a puzzled look. “Humans?”

“No, I mean… like, are we dating?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Chara shrugged. “I thought we were just two people who lived together, slept together and enjoyed each other’s company. Does that count as dating?” 

“I guess to some it does. But what would we call ourselves?”

“Do we… have to put a label on it?” Chara asked, closing their book and laying it on their chest. “Can’t we just be ‘Frisk and Chara’?”

“I wish, but you know how humans are. They’ll label us if we don’t do it first. They already called you my ‘bae’.”

Chara snorted. “I was… never one much for pet names.” They quietly explained. “It’s nice when someone calls you by what you want to be called. Nick names like ‘babe’ or ‘honey’ just seem so sickeningly saccharine to me. Ugh.” They pause for a moment, considering. “And if you dare call me your boyfriend I swear I will fucking deck you.” Chara warned.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Frisk chuckled. “Besides, we’re not just friends, are we? We’re something else. Something more.”

“Yeah, friends with benefits.”

“Chara I’m serious,” Frisk said. “If someone came up to us and asked us if we were dating, what do we say?”

“You mean aside from ‘mind your own fucking business’?”

“Yes, because that’s rude. I think the most common term for a gender neutral relationship is ‘datefriend’ or ‘datemate’.”

“Hm, kinda cheesy. What about ‘fuck buddies’?”

“Absolutely not. How about ‘soul mates’? We do share a soul after all.”

“What are we? Crappy fan fiction?” Chara snorted. “That’s a little on the nose, don’t you think?”

“Okay then… what about ‘other half’? That’s a bit more subtle, right?”

“Hmm...” Chara mulled it over. After a couple of minutes contemplating, they quietly speak. “I think… I could live with that one. One condition, though.”

“What?”

“You have to be the better half.” With gentle finesse, Chara reached up and caressed the side of Frisk’s face, sending their heart aflutter. In that moment all their fears and worries about how others perceived them evaporated like mist. Who cared how others saw them when Chara looked at them so fondly?

Overwhelmed with happiness, Frisk bent over and dared to plant a swift kiss on Chara’s forehead. Chara stiffened beneath them, but Frisk hardly noticed.

“Hey, I’m bored,” Frisk said hazily, pulling away from the kiss. Too focused on Chara’s brilliant ruby-red eyes, they don’t register their startled expression. “You wanna go do something in the bedroom? Preferably without any clothes on?”

A knowing smile spread across Chara’s face and their body, at last, unwinds. “Always with you, _other half_.”

* * *

The story on the monster hero’s new date was a hit. Already gossip circles began bragging about how “they knew he was dating the other human” as soon as they saw the first photographs. Jokes and jabs had already started circulating. People could have sworn he would’ve chosen a monster as a partner since he loved them so much. 

After the issue was published it only took two days to see an increase in sales as people wanted to learn more and catch up on the stories they had missed. Surprisingly, analytics shows that most of the new sales had been made to monsters. The dumb creatures couldn’t discriminate between good news and bad. If it featured their beloved little savior, they were all over it.

The newshound couldn’t condescend too much, though. The increase in revenue meant their editors would stay off their backs a bit and the reporter would stay employed to write another day. The increase in sales also reflected nicely on their paycheck, which they reinvested into better equipment. A wider monster audience now a part of their readership also meant more tips and information freely solicited which undoubtedly saved them the effort of researching on their own. Of course a bunch of the notes just kept reiterating that “Frisk isn’t a ‘he’, they’re a ‘they’, and so is their new datefriend until they say otherwise.” 

The newshound promptly dismissed these little notes. As if the tabloid were ever going to correct itself. Whatever was printed was always accurate. And who had time for semantics? Besides, the readers wanted new updates, new gossip. They wanted more and the reporter had to stay on the case. 

The newshound didn’t know whether their job was made easier or harder by the fact the mystery human virtually never left the house. On the one hand, they never had to stray far from their stakeout position- a conveniently leafy tree with a perfect view of the former queen’s residence, but on the other, rough bark wasn’t very comfortable to sit on.

The newshound’s perseverance did pay off in the end, though. After days of around the clock surveillance on the human’s shared bedroom window, they slipped up. Already the reporter had written an article or two on how it was rumored that the two humans roomed together, and while they couldn’t _prove_ this was the case, it was suspicious how the curtains would close once or twice a week for maybe thirty minutes at a time.

Twilight was fast approaching on the day the two humans faltered, and one of them didn’t shut the curtains all the way. In the dim evening light, they probably hadn’t even noticed a gap in the shades. Using their newly purchased camera with a high definition zoom, the newshound stole a peak into the room, and smiled an ugly grin and began snapping as many pictures as they could. Now _this_ was the scandal the tabloid had been looking for.

The newshound climbed down from the tree when the show was over, ready to race off to the editors, when they’re struck with a thought as their feet hit the ground. Although they lived simply and frugally, the royal monsters and monster hero were still incredibly well off. News like this coming out would certainly cause an uproar. Maybe even tarnish a few reputations. Most people, especially humans that cared so much about their image, wouldn’t want photos like these leaking out to the public. Sure this story would give the tabloid another boost for a while, but why slaughter the golden egg-laying goose so soon? 

Maybe, the reporter thought, they should contact the monster hero first to get his opinion on the piece, an exclusive interview. And maybe, if they were lucky, he could incentivize the reporter not to publish the story. 

For the right price, that is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's just pretend I know how tabloid journalism works, o k a y . . .


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (we go on a slight tangent about incest laws in this chapter. Just a heads up)

Chara woke up the way they did most mornings- nestled against Frisk’s side with Frisk’s arm wrapped around them like a security blanket. They breathed deep, practically drinking in Frisk’s unique smell. It was an earthy scent- one of sweat and musk that Chara had grown to associate with the feeling of peace and serenity, and they filled their lungs with it a couple more times as they pulled fresh oxygen into their body and officially declared themselves awake.

“Good morning,” Frisk greeted them.

“Mornin’,” Chara mumbled back, trying to blink away the bleariness in their vision.

Frisk, on the other hand, was bright-eyed and alert, clearly having been awake for some time. They scroll through text messages on their phone.

“You know you don’t have to lay down with me until I wake up,” Chara yawned, stretching and tensing every muscle in their body to feel their blood flow warmly through their veins. 

“I didn’t want to disturb you,” Frisk said automatically. This was a conversation they both had had many times before.

Chara sat up and winced as a sharp pain shot up their spine. Hissing, they flopped back down on the mattress.

“You okay?” Frisk said, mildly alarmed.

“Yeah, yeah… just… sore.” Chara confessed.

“Sorry. I guess I was too rough last night. I’ll be gentler next time.”

“Frisk, if you had been any gentler, we would be attempting fuck while in separate beds,” Chara remarked. “Anyway, it’s not a bad soreness. It feels like… like I did a really good work out kind of sore.”

Chara stretched again, feeling the twinge of pain ebbing away this time. They had tried to explain it to Frisk before that, yes, as hard as it was to believe, they actually liked a little roughness in their sex, but Frisk couldn’t comprehend it. Hurting someone they cared about, even if that person had explicitly asked for it, was just something Frisk could not willingly bring themself to do.

Chara rubbed their eyes and looked around the room. It had been such a spur-of-the-moment tantric night of love making that they hadn’t been left with the time or energy to properly clean up. Heck, the both of them hadn’t even put on fresh clothes before crashing into Frisk’s bed and fallen asleep. Pajamas were scattered on the floor, the sheets of _their_ bed were wrinkled and sported some new, suspicious-looking stains, and a couple of ripped square foil wrappers sat forgotten on the night stand. Even the air still stank of their deeds.

Chara suppressed a groan, not looking forward to the cleaning that awaited them and wondered where they last saw the bottle of febreze. But cleaning could wait until after breakfast at least. They rolled over, locking Frisk into a side-hug.

“Got any plans for your Saturday?” They asked.

“Well, I _was_ planning on going to the theatre to see the new Disney movie that’s out, so I could write that essay for my film class. I even asked a bunch of my classmates if they wanted to go with me, but they’re now all getting back to me saying they can’t make it. I even asked a handful of my other college friends if they wanted to go, but they say they’re all busy too, so I guess I’m not going either. I don’t want to be that one twenty-year-old who goes alone to see children’s movies in a theatre full of minors.” Frisk’s voice trailed a bit. “It’s funny… people used to text me all the time asking to hang out. But ever since that tabloid revealed that we were together a couple weeks back, it feels like people are trying to avoid me now.”

Pressed against Frisk’s ribs, Chara’s face darkened.

“You’re upset.” Frisk noted.

Chara almost blurted out “No I’m not,” but then realized Frisk was right.

“How can you tell?” They asked instead.

“I can feel you frowning against my skin,” Frisk explained. “What did I say that made you mad?”

“Nothing.” Chara grumbled. “It wasn’t anything you said.”

“Then what was it?” Frisk pushed. They didn’t like it when Chara bottled things up, even if it was for Frisk’s benefit. It simply wasn’t healthy to keep anger pent up inside.

“It’s just-!” Chara forced themselves to sit up, ignoring the brief jolt of discomfort in their back. “You’re right, okay? You’re right and it pisses me off.”

“What?” Frisk asked, not seeing the connection. “Right about what?”

“Right about them,” Chara clarified, getting out of bed and searching for some clean underwear. “I don’t want to say it or even _think_ about it because it sounds like something an abuser would do, but based on their reactions, it turns out it’s fucking _true_.”

Chara found a fresh pair of briefs and tugged them on. Reaching into their shared dresser, they blindly grab a shirt and pulled it over their head. It’s a size too big, and baggy around the arms, which means it’s one of Frisk’s, but they don’t bother to change it and Frisk doesn’t point it out.

Frisk wasn’t following. “What’s true?”

“No,” Chara grumbles. “It sounds manipulative as all hell, and I don’t want you to think that way of me.”

“Well then explain why you think that way so I can understand. Please?” Frisk asked. “Now that you’ve given me a heads up, I can’t be tricked, right?”

“You’re really not going to let this go, are you?” Chara said.

“Not as long as you’re angry.” Frisk said back. “So what am I right about?”

“Fine,” Chara sighed. “You’re right about them not wanting to hang out with you ever since you and I were ‘exposed’ and presumably dating. And all those people who used to hang out with you just straight up dropped you now that the news is out that you’re ‘taken’.” Chara spat the word in disgust. 

“Their behavior just proves to me that they never wanted to be friends with you, they just wanted to _have_ you, like some sort of trophy they could boast about. ‘Oh! Look at me! I’m dating a celebrity!’” Chara mimed in a pseudo-alto tone. “The idea of people using you for their own personal gain makes me sick.”

“Maybe they just wanted to give me privacy?” Frisk suggested, playing the devil’s advocate. “Maybe they thought they were being bothersome and interrupting my time with you and didn’t want to seem invasive?”

“Maybe,” Chara shrugged. “But _you_ asked _them_ to go to the movies, and _all_ of them said they couldn’t make it? That’s not polite refusal. That’s a bunch of people realizing they’ve lost the game and deciding to quit playing. All of these so-called ‘friends’ of yours, as soon as they learned they couldn’t date you, they wanted nothing to do with you.”

“What?” Frisk teased. “But aren’t you glad you have no competition?”

“Attention isn’t something that should be fought for, Frisk,” Chara said seriously. “There’s a saying that goes ‘your S.O. should be your best friend, but they shouldn’t be your _only_ friend.’ And that statement goes both ways. Either all those people who are declining you are too stupid to realize they can still be your friend even if you’ve got a partner, or they were never truly interested in being your friend in the first place. It just… _infuriates_ me.”

Chara hunched up their shoulders and growled. Frisk found it funny and just a touch sad to see such a small body steaming with so much indignation about a problem that wasn’t even theirs.

“Okay, I think I understand better now,” Frisk said calmingly. “But I still don’t get why this all makes you so mad when it doesn’t affect you.”

Chara closed their eyes and exhaled long and slow. Bit by bit they lower their shoulders and force themselves to relax.

“I’m getting mad because you’re not.” They say at last. “And I know you won’t ever be, so I’ll get angry for you. You’re not some… some prize to be won, and everyone who ever viewed you that way can go fuck themselves.”

Frisk smiled sadly at their partner. While they didn’t necessarily agree with Chara’s deduction, they couldn’t deny their pacifist choice of lifestyle did lend themselves to being hurt more easily, and Chara’s suspicious nature had prevented many instances where they could have been taken advantage of in their youth, even if it was just play-ground drama. They wanted to believe that the majority of people acted with good intentions even if Chara didn’t believe the same.

Finally deciding to get out of bed, Frisk strode over to Chara and wrapped them in a hug.

“It’s nice to know I’ve got someone looking out for me.” They said then kiss the top of their head purely because they’re tall enough to do so.

Chara tensed for a second before finally uncrossing their arms and returning Frisk’s hug.

“Hey Frisk,” They mumbled against Frisk’s chest, not daring to look up into their eyes. “What I’m about to say might also sound kinda mean, but hear me out, okay? You deserve anyone you want… but not everyone deserves you. Understand?”

“I think so,” Frisk said, rubbing Chara’s back. “Good thing I’m already with the one I want.”

Even without them looking up, Frisk can see Chara blush.

“You are sappier than maple syrup, you know that?” They said, gently pushing away. Although they try to hide it, Chara’s smile is too big to truly cover up.

“Speaking of syrup,” Frisk said while getting dressed for the day. “How do you feel about pancakes for breakfast? I think we still have some of that apple cinnamon mix left.”

“Only if you let me decide how many chocolate chips to put in the mix,” Chara agreed. “But- ah, I’ll catch with you in a bit. There’s something I want to do first.”

“No problem. See you in the kitchen.”

Frisk departed, leaving Chara to finish any remaining business they may have had in the bedroom. When they were out of their range of hearing, Chara reached for their phone and stared a group chat. They had all the same contacts in their phone that Frisk had (monster-wise, anyway) and got to work forming a massive invitation list.

\--

The two humans had just finished washing the last of their dishes when the doorbell rang. Frisk was first to answer it, and opened the door to reveal Undyne standing imposingly in the entrance.

“Hey punk! Long time, no see!”

“Oh, hey Undyne. What brings you over?”

“Alphys and I saw there was a new Disney movie out and we wanted to go see it, but then we thought, ‘Hey! Why not get some of our friends to come with us? ‘S been a while since we all hung out! So, you want in on this?”

“Hey, what a weird coincidence!” Frisk smiled. “I was hoping to see that movie with my classmates, but all of them bailed. But you know what? I think it’ll be more fun if I saw it with you guys instead.” Frisk turned to Chara who was watching from the hallway. “Hey Chara, do you want to go to the movies with us?”

“Nah,” Chara shook their head, though their smile stayed polite. “I don’t really feel like sacrificing my money to our corporate rodent overlord today.”

“Well then you’re in luck!” Undyne declared. “Because your ticket’s already paid for!”

“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Frisk promised. “And I’ll need someone to share my popcorn with.”

“Yeah! It’ll be a septuple date!”

Frisk arched their eyebrows. “ _Septuple?_ How many other people are coming?”

“Oh you know,” Undyne smiled shrewdly and began counting on her fingers. “Me ‘n Alphys, Bratty and Catty, the dogi, RG1 and 2, Burgerpants and the nicecream guy, and Papyrus and Mettaton at least. I’m still waiting to hear back from Napstablook, Suzy and Monster Kid, but at the end of the day, it’s all monsters you already know!”

“Alright, I’ll come just so Frisk won’t be the odd human out,” Chara decided. “But in addition to popcorn, I’d like some recess pieces as well.”

“I’ll get you some recess pieces, but only if you promise to give me fifty percent of them.” Frisk bargained.

“Five percent.” Chara bartered.

“Fifty.”

“Ten percent.”

“Fifty.”

“Twenty-five?”

“You know I don’t play this game, Chara.”

“I know,” Chara griped, but they laced their fingers with Frisk’s and followed them out to the car regardless.

\--

The theatre was packed with monsters, even more than Undyne had anticipated. News traveled fast between monsters and apparently friends had told other friends who then went on to tell _their_ friends that someone had planned a big get-together for Frisk at the movies.

There had been a dozen hushed “It’s Frisk!”s and “Hey Frisk!”s as the two humans made their way to their seats, and even more greetings and hugs with monsters in the lobby when the movie had ended. Chara loitered patiently on the sidelines, standing next to the cardboard cut outs of movie characters and watched as monsters did their catching-ups with Frisk, content enough to simply wait and watch.

Monsters loved Frisk and rightfully so. But unlike humans, their love for their favorite human was genuine and true. Monsters loved Frisk purely for who Frisk was, not for what Frisk represented. They did not try to deceive others with ulterior motives, and for that Chara was grateful.

On the car ride home, Alphys and Undyne discussed their thoughts on the movie while Frisk and Chara sat quietly in the back seat, watching the town speed by around them.

“I mean, I guess I like how Disney is trying to be progressive with their movies and made this one monster-centric, but I still think their message kinda gets lost when they made the monsters the ones who were suspicious and untrusting of humans at the start,” Undyne said.

“M-maybe they just thought the ‘human falling in love with a monster’ trope was overdone and they just wanted to m-mix things up by having it the o-other way around,” Alphys argued.

“Maybe, but that still makes monsters seem like the bad guys and paints humans as innocent and unfairly judged. And given our actual history with them and the war? It feels just a little bit racist if you ask me. At the very least you have to agree it’s a little tone-deaf.”

“Well, i-it has been over a millennia since the war,” Alphys said. “And nearly all records of monsters on the surface before then had been destroyed. The humans who made the movie probably didn’t realize how their story might seem insensitive.”

“Ignorance is not an excuse. It’s still harmful.” Undyne frowned. “They could have interviewed the monsters before making their movie, and learned how and why the war started. It sure would have saved them the faux pas.”

“W-well, social commentary aside, what d-did you think of the animation?” Alphys asked to change the subject. “CGI gets better e-every year, don’t you think?”

“Eh, I wish they’d bring back 2D, like in anime.” Undyne sighed. “The human characters looked cartoony enough, but the CGI monsters just fell into the uncanny valley for me.”

Chara pulled out their phone and began playing around with their apps and Frisk looked out the window at the rolling landscape, lost in thought.

They hadn’t interpreted the movie as an unintentional stab at monsters being the ones who unjustly feared humans, but they could certainly see Undyne’s point. The movie’s conflict and plot had been simple for kids to understand and follow; ‘don’t judge people before you know them’, and even a deeper message of ‘love has no boundaries’. It was this second plot thread that had captivated Frisk, as they watched a cartoon human and monster overcoming trial and tribulation to be with one another and getting the world to accept them despite their differences.

The characters in the movie had made bold and daring declarations of love and each had done valiant acts in the name of the other. The film had ended triumphantly with the two being wed, proudly displaying their devotion for all the world to see and daring it to challenge them. It was truly a fairy tale ending for the couple.

But instead of leaving the theatre full of warm fuzzy feelings, Frisk found themselves quiet and contemplative, unaware during their viewing that they had been subconsciously projecting themselves on to the protagonist and discovering that their understanding of relationships did not match that of the movie’s at all.

Frisk spent the rest of the afternoon writing their essay for their film class while the movie was still fresh in their memory, but once they finished the paper they found that their thoughts kept drifting back to the movie’s ending and wedding scene. That’s what people did when they wanted to express their commitment to another, didn’t they? Made a big event out of it to let the whole world know and make it official?

Frisk slowly turned their computer chair to face Chara.

“Hey, Chara?” Frisk spoke up to get their attention.

“Yeah?” Chara said without looking away from their computer screen. From the fervent sound of the tapping keys, it sounded like Chara was busy typing a rant on some social media site.

“Do you ever think about getting married?”

“No.” Chara replied without a second’s hesitation or even an ounce of doubt in their voice.

Frisk blinked, taken aback by their bluntness.

“You… don’t?”

“Nope. Why should I?”

“Because… because isn’t that what people do when they want to stay with someone important to them forever? They make it official so the whole world knows?”

Chara stopped tying and spun their chair around, fixing Frisk with a quizzical look.

“Frisk, tell me something. What is a marriage to you?”

Frisk hesitated. “I… hope you’re not expecting me to say it’s a union only between a man and a woman…”

“No. Fuck no,” Chara shook their head in alarm. “I’d be screwed beyond belief if I believed _that_.” 

They rolled their chair closer to Frisk’s and picked up their hand. “I don’t know about you, but to me a marriage is a promise- a vow to be there for the person or persons you care about, to encourage them to be the best versions of themselves, to listen to them when they need to talk, to support them when they can’t walk on their own, and mostly just to share and laugh and make memories with. And since we already make that promise with each other every day, why bother being frivolous and show it off? Isn’t it just redundant?”

“I guess…” Frisk said a little crestfallen.

“Besides, it’s not like you and I are allowed to get married anyway.” Chara said flatly.

“What? Same-sex marriage was made legal years ago.”

“Yeah, but incest still isn’t.”

The comment is so out of left field, Frisk head spun with confusion.

“But… you and I… aren’t _related?_ ” they state, dumbfounded.

“True, but we are both legally Toriel’s adopted children, and in the eyes of the law that makes us siblings.”

Frisk stuttered, unable to articulate their thoughts. “But-! That’s ridiculous! We aren’t related!” they reiterate.

“Yep. But you know what? Even if we were, the law is still wrong. You know how humans and lawmakers are, though. As soon as they hear the words ‘relatives marrying’ they instantly think one of them is being abused and forced into it, or worse, they just think it’s gross. It’s like politicians can’t wrap their heads around the idea of two people wanting to get married because they simply _like_ each other.”

“That’s… not fair.” Frisk whispered.

“You’re preaching to the choir, Frisk,” Chara shook their head sadly. “And any explination someone gives on why relatives shouldn't marry will be baseless at worst or hypocritical at best. If you ask me, there should be only two qualifiers that should determine who is allowed to get married; One- are all the individuals involved of legal age? And two- do all individuals in the relationship consent? If both answers are ‘yes’ then they should be allowed to wed. If even just one of those answers is ‘no’, then no, they shouldn’t.

“Maybe in time the human race will come to their senses and things will change for the better. Right now, we can’t marry because we’re considered siblings, but you know what? Two-hundred years ago you and I wouldn’t have been able to marry because we were the same sex, and a group of influential assholes thought that was ‘wrong’. And three-hundred years ago, you and I wouldn’t have been able to marry because we were of different races and some powerful idiots thought that was wrong too. Both of those ideologies died out, and someday this one will too.”

Frisk didn’t know how to respond. The conversation had taken a turn for the weird and they were starting to feel awkward talking about it. Sensing Frisk’s discomfort, Chara shifted the subject.

“Anyway, marriage is kind of overrated,” They said. “Sure, there maybe one day there will be loopholes and laws that say we can, but there will never be a law that says we _have_ to. And you’d sooner get me back in a coffin before you get me back in a church when that happens.” Chara chuckled a bit, but then their voice goes quiet and their eyes down cast on their next words. “Besides… if one day… you decide you’ve had enough of me, you could just… go. Make a clean break. No strings attached, no messy divorce or legal papers.”

Now it’s Frisk’s turn to squeeze Chara’s hand.

“I could never have enough of you for as long as I’ll live,” they say adamantly. “And I know that because I still want you every time I see you.”

Chara flushed, and tried to cover their ridiculous smile.

“Frisk, you are mushier than apple sauce.”

\--

Frisk spent the rest of the evening tending to their social medias. So many of their monster friends had tagged or mentioned them in their photos and posts about the movie today and Frisk wanted to make sure each monster knew they saw and appreciated the shout out.

They go to their email last, clearing away the spam and sorting the emails sent by professors and colleagues. But there is one email that sticks out from the rest. The address says it’s from the Ebott Enquirer- the same tabloid that had “exposed” them and Chara a while back.

They give the email a skim out of vague curiosity, half-wondering how they even got their email address.

_’To the acclaimed Mr. Dreemurr,_

_Our sources have recently provided us with incriminating photos of you and your partner. Our editors are pushing us to print this story without regards to the psychological or emotional damages these photos can cause, but as a journalist, I know these kinds of scandal can seriously harm one’s reputation. If you can assist me in raising enough funds to persuade the editors to choose a different story to print, your public image may yet remain intact. Please respond within 48 hours of receiving this email, or I will have no choice but to print this story.’_

Frisk snorted. What “incriminating photos” was this guy talking about? Had they followed them to the movies today? Taking highly illicit pictures of Frisk and Chara sharing a soda, or, God forbid, holding hands in a public space? All the monsters had probably taken more candid photos of the pair today. And it was not like Frisk tried to keep their relationship with Chara a secret. They certainly weren’t afraid to be seen with them in public. They really were desperate if they thought a couple of people going to the movies was newsworthy, or “scandalous”.

Frisk deleted the email without a second thought. Let the Enquirer print their dumb story. It was probably the closest thing to announcing to the world that Frisk was with Chara that they were ever going to achieve.

Dinner came and went, the sun set, and before long it was time for bed.

“Hey, I’ve been thinking,” Frisk said to Chara as they turned down the sheets for the night. “Maybe you and I should move out soon.”

“Why?” Chara asked, tilting their head in confusion.

“Isn’t that what college-aged people are supposed to do?” Frisk asked back, climbing into bed. “Strike out on our own and find our way in the world?”

“Frisk, you’re barely over twenty. You haven’t even finished your first year of college yet.” Chara pointed out, crawling into bed beside them. “Also, thinking you have to move out in your twenties is a very western idea. There are plenty of cultures where multiple generations will live in the same house. You can still be independent even if you live with your parents.”

“But think of how much more _privacy_ we could have,” Frisk insinuated. “We won’t have to worry about mom walking in on us, or God forbid, Sans whenever he comes over.”

“Mm, that does sound tempting.” Chara agreed. They settled into a comfortable silence, letting their thoughts wander as they started to wind down for the night. Quietly, Frisk spoke up.

“And once we have our own place, we could think about adoption-”

Chara bolted upright and shot Frisk a hard smile.

Chara had a lot of smiles, Frisk had discovered, and each conveyed something different. The had learned to decipher many of them, depending on which corner of their lips were tilted up, how high their eyebrows were, how much of their teeth were showing, things like that. The smile Chara gave them now, unnaturally big with their pupils contracted was a smile of borderline panic.

“Frisk, why would you ever suggest something like that?” Chara asked tensely.

“Huh?”

“I am the _last_ person who should be responsible for another living being. Children are so easy to fuck up when they’re little. Hell, I’M so fucked up I can barely take care of _myself_. It’s about all I can do not to lash out when I see parents yelling or spanking their kids in public, I can’t imagine what I’d do if _I_ became the person who does that. Why on earth would you want to adopt a child?”

“Holy shit, Chara, no! I’m not talking about children! I was talking about a dog or cat or something! A pet!”

“Oh. Thank fuck for THAT clarification.” Chara sighed, rubbing their temples. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“Chara, trust me, I know I’m nowhere ready to have kids myself, and frankly, I’m not even sure if I’d ever _want_ kids. But if one day I do, I’ll be sure to ask for your thoughts on it first instead of just springing it on you like that.”

Chara lay back down, curling in close to Frisk. “Thanks for your consideration,” they muse.

They lay there together in silence for a couple minutes before Frisk quietly spoke again.

“I think we should get a cat.”

“A cat? Really?” Chara whispered. “I always thought you were more of a dog person.”

“Eh, dogs are great, but they smell funny when they’re wet. Also, cats are low maintenance. All they do is lie around and look cute.” 

“Ah yes. They’re self-cleaning, spend most of their time sleeping, have a vibrate setting, and are perfectly disguised little murder machines. Truly the perfect home additions. Let’s get twenty.”

Frisk fought back a chuckle and kissed Chara on the forehead. “Good night, Chara.”

Chara blinked, but relaxed, mumbling into Frisk’s side. 

“Night, Frisk.”

* * *

The reporter refreshed their email for the fifth time that hour, but still there were no new notifications.

They rolled their eyes and sighed. Honestly, they had done the monster-lover a favor by warning him of impending catastrophe. They had even been generous by giving him 48 hours to reply instead of 24. Ah, but they were down to the final hour now, and still no response. Oh well. They’d given him a chance, but it seemed they had no choice now but to force their hand.

Without much remorse, the newshound forwarded their report to the editor to be printed. The next day the journalist opened their email with morbid giddy, hoping to find that little hero begging for the paper to be recalled, but no such message greeted them.

The newshound shrugged. Sometimes even big stories like these took a while to catch fire and spread. A little patience was needed, that was all. Still, when their phone beeped to alert them to a new message, they scrambled to read it in a less than dignified manner.

Unfortunately the new email is not from the monster savior.

But it is from two someones _far_ more interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPECIAL THANKS TO ANON+Q FOR THE APPLE SAUCE AND SYRUP METAPHORS! They suggested those two lines to me almost _two years ago_ in my other story, "Holidays" and I promised I would find a way to work them in to one of the fics AND I FINALLY FUCKING DELIVERED!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another heads up, the homophobic F slur is used in this chapter. (Only once and early on, but just incase you need a warning~)
> 
> Revising and editing this chapter was a fucking nightmare and it still feels very "tell not show" to me. I could have split this chapter in to two to give me more time to tweak it, BUT I"VE GOT A DEADLINE TO MEET SO WE"RE JUST GONNA HAVE TO DEAL WITH SOME SLOPPY PACING TOWARDS THE END, I"M SORRY. (eh, maybe one day in the future I'll go back and fix it when I can find the phrasing I'm looking for)

Mounted over a stack of pillows, Chara bit the corner of the top most one in a desperate attempt to stifle their whines, and clung to the bed spread for dear life as Frisk nailed them from behind.

It wasn’t that they were ashamed to make noise- the exact opposite, actually. Chara would have loved nothing more than to scream their euphoria for all to hear as Frisk pounded into them, but they knew if thy made a noise that even remotely sounded like they were in pain, Frisk would _stop_ and that was the one thing they wanted to avoid at all costs. So instead they settled for muffled grunts and groans of pleasure as Frisk laboriously panted above them. They tried their best to time any noise they did make with the clapping of Frisk’s thighs against their ass and the squeaking of the mattress springs, though the sounds, while consistent, weren’t loud enough to really cover up anything else. Drops of hot sweat tapped on Chara’s back as Frisk hunched over them. They were on their fourth round now, breathless and out of practice. They hadn’t tried a marathon since before their split last year, but so long as they stayed hard, Frisk was determined to keep going.

Chara screwed their eyes shut and mentally willed Frisk to keep at it. They had yet to climax at all, being stimulated from only one end and unable to touch themselves out of fear of losing balance, but they were getting close, and Frisk’s dick was hammering right into that sweet spot that made their mind go off like fireworks. Desperately they tried to grind against the rough, scratchy towel that chafed against their knees, but moving against Frisk’s rhythm risked throwing them off, so they silently endured.

Sensing they were about to peak, Frisk gripped Chara’s hips a little tighter and began to thrust a little more urgently, unaware of how much force they were exerting thanks to their numbing skin. Chara held their breath, their thoughts a broken record of “yes, yes, _yes_ ,” and “Keep going, _keep going_ ” looping in their head as shock waves of pleasure and pain jolted down their spine.

Hearing no complaint from Chara and blinded by their own lust-fueled stupor, Frisk increased their speed as they raced towards the edge. Chara bit back a howl as Frisk’s cock assaulted their prostate and fucked the cum right out of them. Each aftershock is amplified tenfold as Frisk continued to rut into them without pause. The sound of fast-flowing liquid splattering against cloth was followed shortly by the bitter smell of release mixing with the damp, musty air.

Only after Chara emptied their tanks does Frisk follow suit, filling Chara with a quick flash of heat that they know will vanish all too quickly when Frisk decides to pull out. But for now, though, Frisk doesn’t disconnect just yet. They’re too busy trying to catch their breath and slow down their heart, leaving Chara to dreamily pretend that there isn’t a latex barrier between them. Maybe one day, in the distant future no doubt, Chara could convince Frisk to go bareback and let them keep the seed within them that made Chara feel so warm and full.

“You… up for… one more go?” Chara heaved, eyeing Frisk over their shoulder.

“Yeah, just… lemme… get a touch up on lube.” Frisk murmured back. Carefully they separate and Chara suffocates a whine, suddenly feeling empty and cold.

Frisk stood on unsteady feet-

-and then the brick came through their window.

At first, Chara can’t comprehend the sound of shattering glass or why the curtain was moving if the window was closed, and for one panicked second nobody moved, frozen in place by raw terror. In the next second, Frisk gasped in horror, snapping Chara out of their trance.

“Chara! You’re bleeding!”

Chara blinked and slowly sat up, finding the spot on their upper arm where a stray piece of glass had grazed their skin and the sting of pain was just starting to bloom.

“Careful!” Frisk warned as Chara slowly sat up. “There’s glass on the bed and all over the floor.”

Not wanting to take any chances with their clothes on the floor, Frisk picked their way across the room to their bureau and pulled out fresh shirts and pants for them both.

“Ah! Let me get you your shoes before you get off the bed,” Frisk said, tossing Chara some socks. “Don’t move! I’ll be right back.”

With the utmost caution, Chara carefully brushed all the glass they could see off the bed and onto the floor. Slowly their shock melted away into anger when they spied the culprit brick.

After they pull on their clothes, they reached over and picked it up off the floor. A nasty four letter word is written in black sharpie on one face.

“Fags?” They snorted, showing the brick to Frisk upon their return. “That was an outdated slur even when _I_ was a kid.”

Frisk pulled a face and tossed Chara their shoes. Chara noticed that they’ve also brought the broom with them and waste no time sweeping up the biggest pieces of glass off the floor.

“If you want to go to Mom so she can heal your cut, I’ll stay here and vacuum up the last of the glass.”

“It’s just a superficial scrape,” Chara said. They lick their thumb then swipe away the thin trail of blood on their arm. “I’ll live. But if I find out who threw this brick, there’s a good chance _they_ won’t.”

“No,” Frisk said, looking up from their sweeping. “If we find out who’s responsible, we let the authorities deal with them. We don’t want to start trouble.”

“They’re the ones who started it,” Chara grumbled, reluctantly putting on their shoes and tip-toeing out of the room to find Toriel anyway.

Frisk could hear her gasp from down the hall, presumably as Chara told her the news, and seconds later she’s at the bedroom door, assessing the damage for herself. (If she was suspicious of the odor in the air or the wrappers on the floor, she politely didn’t mention them).

“Don’t come in barefoot,” Frisk warned as she surveyed the crime scene with narrowed eyes. “I still have to vacuum to make sure I get everything.”

“Frisk, you know I am not one for violence,” Toriel started, “But this was a blatant threat on your and Chara’s safety. Do not fret, my child. We will find who is responsible for this, and _you will get an apology_.”

Frisk suppressed a shudder. Only Toriel knew how to make requesting atonement sound like a threat.

An hour of intense vacuuming later, Frisk finally deemed the carpet safe enough to tread barefoot again. Chara, meanwhile, had come up with the brilliant idea to call up the former royal canine unit to help track down the culprit responsible, though it had taken several dog treats, pets, and promises of games of fetch to get them to agree and follow the scent trail.

They were still out in the field, trying to find the suspect’s tracks and Frisk figured, knowing the canine’s attention span, they’d be at it for a while. Their noses were great, they couldn’t argue that, but their ability to focus left something to be desired. Just throwing one stick across their line of sight was enough to derail their concentration.

Frisk shakily lowered into their chair and let out a weary sigh. Anxiously they tapped their fingers on their desk, trying to sort out their thoughts. They weren’t upset about the broken window. Windows could be replaced. Even the slur on the brick didn’t cause them too much distress. But their allusion of safety had been shattered worse than the glass had. This attack had been intentional. Deliberate. It had meant to scare them and make them feel vulnerable. But worst of all, Frisk didn’t know _why_. 

Was it a hate crime? Someone jealous of their status and fame, however humble they lived? Was it for attention? To attack a figurehead and get fifteen minutes of fame? Was it political? Someone who still had backwards ideologies and believed Frisk choice in partner was morally wrong?

They didn’t know and they couldn’t tell. And that’s what scared them most. Would this happen again? If it did, what if next time the criminal did something _worse_?

Frisk turned to their computer for distraction. Their morning that had started off so wonderful had now been thoroughly ruined. Half-attentively they catch up on their social media, clearing away new notifications and messages, then go to their email. There’s only one new message, and Frisk almost deleted it when the tagline caught their eye.

_’I warned you.’_

Frisk’s blood turned to ice at the three little words and its eerie timing with the attack that had just transpired. With fingers of a sleep walker, they click on the email. Their eyes are immediately drawn to a series of pictures before anything else, and their heart nearly stops at the sight.

It’s pictures of _them_. Frisk and Chara, in their bedroom, dark but recognizable, both bare on the bed.

Frisk fought the urge to look at the window behind them. They had been watched, spied on in one chance moment when they hadn’t closed the curtains all the way. They were scared to think they were being watched now.

With their heart in their throat, Frisk scrolled to the top of the email and began to read.

_’To Mr. Dreemurr,_

_It is with reluctance I must say I was forced to publish my story involving you and your partner. I was able to avoid using the most explicit photos against you, but demand from our readers and my editors may soon give me no other choice.’_

A sick feeling of anger settled in Frisk’s stomach as they continued to read.

_’If you are willing to help me, I believe we can prevent my editors from causing any more damage to your image. I will give you 48 hours to respond before I have no choice but to send this story in.’_

Frisk sat in silence, stewing in disgust and indignation. This was blackmail. News sites couldn’t do this. They had half a mind to call Toriel back in the room when a paragraph below the explicit photos grabbed their attention.

_’Mr. Dreemurr, believe me, I wish not to harm you emotionally or psychologically. I am as much a victim of circumstance as you, and I am only trying to do my job to keep a roof over my head. If I find that my own livelihood comes under fire because you send your archers to shoot the messenger, then do not think it petty of me if you find the following article in the newspaper the next day.’_

Frisk scrolled down and began to read. They only get half way through the first sentence before their anger turns into a primal, unshakable fear.

Two names.

Two names Frisk hadn’t willingly thought of in close to ten years. Two names Frisk hadn’t uttered, even when the custody battles raged between the state officials and monsterkind as Toriel fought for the right to adopt Frisk. Two names that had tortured them and abandoned them and Frisk had hoped never to see again.

Their birth parents.

They barely look at the rest of the preview article, already knowing what words they would find there and what memories of pain and torment they would dredge up. And as if an ancient instinct was reawakened, they found themselves relapsing to a time when they would do borderline anything to avoid detection or notice.

Their fingers numb, Frisk scrolled back up to the top of the email and hit ‘reply’.

* * *

Halfway across the city, the newshound’s phone chimed with an email alert. They open the message, a smug grin spreading across their face.

_’What do you want from me to keep those stories from being published.’_

Finally the monster lover had come to his senses. Now the real work could begin.

* * *

Later that week a local teenager with disillusions to authority was charged with destruction of property, trespassing, and assault with a weapon for throwing the brick at the Dreemurr household. There was a bit of a kerfuffle, the teen claiming the monster dogs had been targeting him and that this was a hit piece, causing a week-long investigation into the Dogi’s legitimacy, but the regular police canines had also been able to single out his scent in a police lineup, (Not to mention his posts bragging about the crime on his highly public social medias).

“The idiot,” Chara snorted, when the news anchor covered the story. “Making all the guard dogs look bad and trying to give monsters a bad rap for what _he_ did.” Chara turned to Frisk. “Do you still want to move out after something like this?”

“Huh?” Frisk blinked back to the present. “Oh, uh, yeah. I’d still like us to move out. Eventually. Maybe not as soon as I hoped…”

They trailed off, their mind wandering elsewhere. Chara sighed but brushed it off. Frisk hadn’t quite been themselves since the brick incident, but who could blame them? Being attacked in your own home (while also in an admittedly vulnerable position) could fuck with anyone’s perception of safety. Chara certainly hoped Frisk would be less anxious now that it was all over. The air of constant trepidation around Frisk was beginning to interfere with their lives in more ways than one.

“Hey, my dance moves are getting a little rusty,” Chara said suggestively, hoping to distract Frisk for a moment. “Do you wanna help me practice my horizontal tango?”

“Not today,” Frisk said apathetically. “Sorry.”

Chara blinked but did not argue. “No, that’s alright. You’re allowed to say ‘no’.” They reassured them, and let the matter drop.

They tried to broach the subject once or twice more after that, asking Frisk if they wanted to talk about it and reminding them that Chara was there to listen at any time. And while Frisk appreciated the gesture, whenever they did talk about the incident, Chara got the notion that there was still something deeper Frisk was too afraid to touch. Chara could only speculate, and they didn’t have much to go on. Did the slur bother Frisk more than they would admit? Were they just paranoid? Chara would never know if Frisk never told them, but ah, that that was the catch twenty-two, wasn’t it? How did one walk the delicate line of giving their partner space and privacy, and pushing the matter for their own good? 

Chara would never reprimand someone for wanting to keep certain thoughts and feelings to themselves. They got it, they really did. They had plenty of secrets of their own and understood not _everything_ needed to be, or even _should_ be shared with others. But sometimes secrets were like poison, and telling someone you knew they were hiding one only made that poison more potent.

Frisk began spending more time on campus. They claimed it was because finals were coming up and their grades needed more work. Both of which were true, but the real motive was Frisk didn’t want anyone to see them as they sent emails from their phone in the most private corner of the library. It had been several weeks since Frisk had first responded to the journalist’s email, and they had kept in contact almost daily ever since.

The blackmail started off small- a weekly fee Frisk reluctantly paid to keep the reporter from printing any more slander about Chara and them in their private lives, but slowly, inevitably, the rates began to increase.

_’Our readers are demanding,’_ the newshound had explained. _’We have to give them what they want eventually.’_

_’That wasn’t part of the deal,’_ Frisk emailed them, irritated. _’You can’t do this_.’

_’What makes you think I want to do this?’_ the reporter’s reply read, dripping with irony. _’As long as you don’t try to throw me under the bus, I won’t publish the story from your parents or what I have left about you and your partner. But we have to give the readers something or they’ll riot. They are the real enemy here, not me.’_

Frisk groaned in frustration. They did not dare write back anything that sounded accusatory or threatening. The last time they’d tried, the issue printed the next day had let some details “accidentally” slip in the filler stories the journalist had been writing. Thankfully all the monsters had heeded Toriel’s request long ago to stop supporting the Ebott Enquirer, but it had no effect on the human population in town. In fact, some would say it had the opposite, as such is the way with humans. Tell them not to do something, and they only want to do it more out of defiance and spite. Frisk would be lying if they said they hadn’t noticed the whispers and stares from their human classmates going on behind their back as the tabloid slowly reported more and more about them.

_’Look, I’m already paying you as much as I can,’_ Frisk bargained. _’Any more and my tuition will suffer and someone will start getting suspicious. Can’t you write about something else?’_

_’There is one thing I can write about. That mysterious boyfriend of yours. Tell me more about him and I won’t have to give the article from your parents over to my editor.’_

Frisk’s fingers paused mid-keystroke, warning bells chiming faintly in their mind.

_’My partner’s story isn’t mine to tell,’_ Frisk typed. _’I have to respect their privacy. Maybe there’s a lesson you can learn in that.’_

_’Oh, we are not interested in his story,’_ the reporter responded . _We’re curious about his_ lack _of one.’_

Inside Frisk’s head, the warning bells turned into sirens.

_’Our sources have informed us that this boyfriend of yours had no past history- no birth certificate, no school enrollment, no social or passport or any form of ID. They just showed up one day coming out of Mt. Ebott. Which headline do you think sounds more sensational? “Monsters caught smuggling undocumented immigrants into the country”, or “Monsters creating their own test-tube humans for future soul harvesting”?’_

Frisk’s stomach began doing flips. It was bad enough that they were already being threatened, but now this so-called journalist was going after Chara? Frisk remembered how long it had taken- how tirelessly Toriel and Asgore worked to go through the right channels to get Chara the right paper work and properly adopted into the family, how hard they had looked to find agents willing to work with monsters and who wouldn’t ask too many questions or dig too deep into Chara’s past, and this guy wanted to expose all of it.

_’Leave Chara out of this,’_ Frisk demanded. _’I’m the one who’s paying you, not them.’_

_’If it were up to me, I’d gladly leave your friend out of it, but I’m caught between a rock and a hard place here. I’m running out of extra material and you’re running out of funds to keep my editors distracted. Pretty soon I’ll have no choice but to publish one of these stories. I at least thought I’d give you the option on which one I should publish first.’_

Frisk’s heart hammered in their chest. The thought of either story being put into the public’s hands filled them with dread; the interview from their parents, reliving all that torment and shame and ridicule was almost unbearable to think about- but a hit piece on Chara that could potentially have them taken away? They couldn’t stomach the thought.

_’If you just give me more time, I can get the money for you, and you won’t have to print either story.’_ Frisk begged. 

_’Sorry, Mr. Dreemurr, but time is not something newspapers really have. We have to publish consistently for the news to be relevant. So which will it be? Which story would you rather have printed first?’_

Frisk swallowed hard, their face grim. All their options looked bad. With great difficulty, they made a choice, a choice that probably wouldn’t prevent the worst from happening, but would at least prolong it a little more.

_’If you must, then print the story about me,’_ Frisk typed with trembling fingers. _’But don’t say a word about Chara. They’re innocent and don’t deserve this.’_

_’No one ever does, Mr. Dreemurr,’_ The reporter typed back, almost sympathetically. _’No one ever does.’_

\--

Things only got worse in the coming weeks. While monsters had vowed to avoid the Ebott Enquirer like the plague, it certainly didn’t stop humans.

Frisk tried to ignore the controversy, to pretend the scathing articles on them didn’t exist, that harmful words originally told to them in their youth and now being echoed by their peers couldn’t be heard. They tried to stay away from potential trouble, but it didn’t help when trouble came looking _for them_.

Their classmates began avoiding Frisk harder than ever, and yet somehow Frisk just so happened to keep coming across issues of the Enquirer on campus, dog eared or bookmarked to the stories about them. They tried to ignore it, not to even touch one of the magazines for fear they were being watched, but they heard the stories all the same. 

The “interviews” from “legitimate sources” revealing details from Frisk’s past. The wording made their heart skip. There had only been two people who had talked so cruelly about them in their life, and now they were telling the whole city behind the guise of “an anonymous correspondence”.

The stories dug into their fears, reminding them that they were never wanted, that they shouldn’t have been born, that they were a mistake. Frisk tried to deny it, to remember those who said otherwise, but it was like attempting to swim in a riptide. When they read those words in the tabloid they only heard it in their own voice, and they seeped into the cracks of their heart, dragging them down in an ocean of doubt.

It was hard to fight against rumors and lies when deep down some part of you still believed they were true.

Slowly, the tabloid began to make jabs at their relationship as the journalist fed the “anonymous source” more exclusive info on the two, and they replied with their own insight. One day someone from the previous lecture just so happened to leave the newest issue of the Enquirer on Frisk’s desk to find for the next period. They tried not to read the page it was left open on, but their eyes caught bits of it anyway.

“ _No one could ever love a revolting kid like them,_ ” the interviews read. “ _I bet that so-called “partner” of theirs only sticks around to use him for an on-call servicing whenever he feels like it. Either that, or he pities the kid. Don’t know which is sadder, honestly. I’m willing to bet he’s never said he loves that monster sympathizer, since I can tell you first hand that brat ain’t worthy of anyone’s love. Eh? The monsters? Pff, as if monsters count. You know they love anything that isn’t trying to actively turn them into dust bunnies._ ”

Frisk skipped lecture and went home early that day, suddenly feeling queasy. The article was trash, pure rumor and opinion, nothing more. ALL tabloids were, and that was _fact_ , that was _truth_. But still, something had struck them deep in their core. Everything the “anonymous sources” had said about Chara were completely fabricated. Totally bogus… Except for one statement.

Chara… never… actually _had_ claimed they loved Frisk, had they? Surely… surely it couldn’t be true. Had they been blinded by their own puppy love this entire time? WAS Chara just using them? No… no, it couldn’t be true. It just wasn’t… was it? 

Frisk tried to think back to a time when Chara said it, but couldn’t recall, and the doubts in their heart began to magnify their fears until they drowned out all they thought to be true and became blind to anything else. After a while, just being around Chara was beginning to make them anxious and uncertain, their insecurities feeding on the lies and growing so large they pushed out all they knew to be true and real in their mind.

Finals came and went and Frisk barely scraped by their first year. They tried to apply for summer jobs as their funds began to dwindle, but no one seemed to want to hire someone with so much recent bad press hanging over their head. Slowly Frisk’s saving began to evaporate and the tabloid articles got worse and worse, haunting them with more and more of their past.

Frisk did their best to shoulder it. Better the attacks be on them rather than Chara… but was it really even worth it anymore? Their name had been dragged through the mud and permanently tarnished, at least locally, and for what? To protect someone who only wanted to stay around because the sex was good? To shelter someone who never said they loved them and never tried to show it?

The only time Frisk didn’t doubt Chara was when they were both tangled in the bedsheets, all trace of uncertainly lost in their passion, but even then the reassurance didn’t last long and that indecision returned stronger each time, until each intimate moment found Frisk just going through the motions. And when the moment ends and they return to the present as if nothing had happened, the doubt comes crawling back. It always came crawling back. 

Unconsciously, Frisk began to look at every interaction they had with Chara in a new light. Together or not, each action suddenly read with new context, new meaning with their constant inner monologue rewriting their thoughts. . Frisk found themselves, waiting, searching, _expecting_ Chara to say or do something to _prove_ the articles were lies and Chara really _did_ love them… But even in all the praise and worship Chara would let slip through their lips, the word “love” was never one of them. They paid closer attention whenever they touched, and noticed how Chara would flinch at being kissed, as if it _hurt_. And as the days turned into weeks, Frisk couldn’t bear the second guessing and doubt and trying to figure it out on their own.

They had to know definitively. For one painful minute they would put all their uncertainty and fear aside and ask Chara upfront. One question- no- one statement was all they needed to make, and whatever reaction Chara gave would let them know once and for all.

“Hey Chara… Can I talk to you about something?” Frisk asked out of the blue one unsuspecting summer evening.

“Yeah?” Chara said distracted from their bed, not bothering to take their eyes off the book they were reading.

“Chara, I… I think I love you.”

Chara quirked an eye brow and gave Frisk a puzzled look. “Okay.”

The corner of Frisk’s lips twitched and their heart fell. That was not the response they were hoping for. “Is… is that all you have to say?” They ask. Chara slowly sat up.

“Yes? Why, is… is there something else you want me to say?”

“I was kinda hoping for ‘I love you too’ or something.” Frisk pouted. “It occurred to me recently we’ve never said it to each other. I… was beginning to doubt it was true.”

“What are you talking about?” Chara asked. “I’ve said I love you before.”

“No, you’ve said you love _parts_ of me,” Frisk retorted. “You love my voice, you love my body, but do you love me as a whole?”

Chara’s eyes darted around the room, not sure where this conversation was going and not liking it.

“Do I… have to tell you things you already know?” they said evasively.

A spark of indignation flared up in Frisk. “Well, that’s just it! I don’t know! And your answer is avoiding the question. You don’t want to marry me, you don’t want to say we’re dating, you refuse to say you love me!” Frisk exclaimed, their voice breaking. “I’m beginning to think you only stay around because you want me for my body.”

“That’s not true!” Chara shouted defiantly. Frisk is accusing them of so much they don’t have the composure to sort their thoughts. “Love is… a dangerous word,” They confess. “The… the last time I dared to get that close to someone, we both ended up dead.”

Frisk was too hurt to feel very sympathetic. “You’ve never even kissed me,” They snip.

“That’s because kissing is gross,” Chara argued, looking at the nearest wall.

They can’t explain it, but something inside Frisk snaps at that. Hurt and offended, the weeks long buildup of emotional frustration and fear began to spill out in a torrent.

“Oh that’s _real_ nice!” they say, raising their voice, letting their anger flow.

“What?”

“You’d gladly perform unspeakable sexual acts but a simple _kiss_ disgusts you? I can’t believe you!”

“Frisk! Wait, it’s not like that!”

“No, you’re right. It’s not like that at all,” Frisk said darkly, their emotions clouding their judgement and making them say the first thing that came to mind. “I understand it perfectly now.” 

“You… do?”

“Yeah… the reason you never want to get married or even say you love me is so one day, if you’ve decided you’ve had enough, you can just say ‘But I never _did_ love you.’ ‘I never _said_ we were together.’ You don’t want to say it so you can never be held accountable for it! You won’t say it so you can always have an out! An excuse if one day you decide it’s not true anymore! Well? Am I wrong?”

Chara’s mouth, which had been hanging open in shock, snapped shut with an audible click. They stare at Frisk with wide-eyed terror, but didn’t speak. They _couldn’t_ speak, even if they tried.

And when Chara couldn’t respond, Frisk had their answer. They knew Chara wouldn’t lie to them, so them _not_ denying the claim was just as bad as saying it was _true_ , which meant… Frisk, swallowed a lump of resentment in their throat, stood up, and made for the door.

“Frisk! Wait!” Chara said, finding their voice at last. They step towards Frisk, reaching for their hand in desperation. “Let’s talk this out, _please_!”

“Chara, I’m sorry but… I just can’t be near you right now,” Frisk muttered, jerking their hand away. “We’ll talk later, when I’m not so mad…”

Feeling like they’re trapped in Undyne’s green magic, Chara stood rooted to the spot, helpless as they watched Frisk turn their back on them.

A surge of shock and self-loathing crushed them when they finally feel like they can move once more. It’s their worst nightmare come to life- Frisk was _rejecting_ them and there wasn’t anything they could do about it. Miserably, they sit down on the thing nearest them- Frisk’s computer chair- and let out a moan of grief.

“You’re such a fucking idiot. Why couldn’t you say you loved them? It’s so easy!” they reprimanded themselves. “Could you see how upset they were? They even tried to talk to you, but instead of reassuring them, you made them feel worse! You made them think you don’t care! Good job, moron! How could you be so stupid?”

A noisy pop-up flashing on Frisk’s computer screen interrupted Chara’s bout of self-flagellation. They give it an irritated glare. Frisk had received a new email.

Chara almost exited it for them, not wanting to pry, but a key word in the text catches their eye.

The conversation is about _them_.

_’Mr. Dreemurr, if you share more information on your friend Chara we can avoid publishing the rest of the interview from your parents for another week, but your constant refusal to cooperate will leave me no other choice.’_ the email reads.

A cold, bitter suspicion began to dawn on them as they read. The email was alarmingly long, having documented a dialogue lasting several weeks. Chara shoved their reservations about privacy aside and scrolled down to the beginning, and started to read. If Frisk was talking about them behind their back, Chara wanted to know why. Privacy be damned. They had a right to know what was being said about them.

They scroll to the bottom and start reading from the beginning, carefully scanning over every word and image. Slowly, the all-consuming anxiety that had paralyzed them minutes earlier began to morph into an appalled understanding, and the longer they read, the angrier they became. 

The threats on both their safety, the blackmail on their privacy, the exaction, the malicious words and actions from two vile people Frisk had never once dared talked about, all documented here in one email.

And suddenly it was like all the puzzle pieces had fallen into place, and Chara could see the past three months in perfect clarity. All of Frisk’s strange behavior suddenly made sense.

And they were not happy about it.

Calmly, (far too calmly if anyone who might have been watching had seen) Chara forwarded the email to themselves and deleted the most recent one from Frisk’s inbox.

Their mind, once a cluttered mess of self-hating thoughts now narrowed into one single objective, blind and deaf to all else.

Thoughts racing a million miles a minute, Chara searched the room, found their backpack and wasted no time packing a change of clothes and their phone, then, stone faced as ever on the outside, but premeditating murder within, they left the room.

\--

Frisk stormed down the hall, not really sure where they were going as long as it was _away_.

Their thoughts swarmed like bees, echoing voices of “they were right” and “I told you so”. They didn’t want to believe it- they _refused_ to believe it- but in the deepest part of their heart, one undeniable fact refused to be ignored.

“It’s true,” the condescending thought repeated matter-of-factly. Unashamedly. “They never said they love you and they never will because they don’t. Those two were right from the beginning. How could anyone ever love you?”

“They were right about everything.”

“Hey, kiddo, where’re you goin’?” A lazy voice asked.

Frisk briefly put a pause to their pity party and looked up. Sans and Toriel were watching them from the living room couch, school work awaiting to be graded and joke books scattered between them.

“I… I don’t know…” Frisk admitted. “Just anywhere that isn’t near _Chara_ for a while.”

“Oh dear,” Toriel gasped, catching the tone of Frisk’s voice. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“Yeah. Come ‘ere, Frisk. Sit with us,” Sans commanded, clearing a spot on the couch and patting the cushion.

Frisk considered the offer. It was no (and never had been) a secret that they and Chara were “a thing” but Frisk had never really gone to any of their parental figures for relatioship advice in the past. But seeing they had no better ideas in the moment, they obliged Sans’ order and stumbled around the couch, falling in a heap between the two monsters on the verge of an emotional collapse.

“Did something happen between you and Chara?” Toriel asked. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I’ve just come to the realization that Chara,” Frisk’s voice hitched as they forced themselves to speak. Their eyes watered, and they tried their best to wipe away their tears before they had a chance to fall. “Chara doesn’t love me. And I’m beginning to realize they probably never did.”

“Oh my child…” Toriel whispered. “You and I know that is simply not true.”

“Then how come they never say it?” Frisk cried out, their frustration getting the better of them. “Is it really that hard just to say three words? Is it really that hard just to kiss someone?”

“Frisk,” Toriel said a bit more sternly. “I know you are upset, but I do not think you are being fair to Chara. Just because they do not express love for you in the way you want them to, does not mean they do not love you with all they have.”

“Tori’s right, Frisk,” Sans added. “As much as I hate defending your friend, even I can’t deny that they have it hard for you, even if they can’t admit it.”

“You have no proof.”

“’Course I do,” Sans said. “You remember the big movie outing we all had a couple months back?”

“Yeah?”

“Who d’you think got everyone together?”

“Um, Undyne? She said so herself?”

“ _Ernt!_ Wrong,” Sans winked, making a fake buzzing noise. “Chara was the one who sent out a mass text asking monsters to come, and explained that your human “friends” ditched you after the whole tabloid situation. They just asked us not to bring it up since they didn’t want you to assume monsters were showing up out of pity.”

“And who do you think packs your lunches every day?” Toriel added.

“You?”

Toriel shook her head. “I haven’t prepared a lunch for you since last year. Chara has been the one to take it upon themselves to make sure you’ve got a brown paper bag waiting for you each day, since they claim they know what you like best.”

“Oh, remember that time you wanted a book signed by an author you liked, but you had a final the same day?” Sans said. “I know I said that I got the book signed for you, but really now, do you think I’d stand in a line for an hour to get an autograph? It was your friend who really stuck it out for you.”

“Really?”

“Mmhm,” Toriel confirmed. “And there is probably a dozen other little things they do for you without you realizing it. When is the last time you’ve done your laundry? Or made your bed? Chara’s always been doing small gestures of kindness for you without you knowing.”

“But… how come they’ve never told me?”

“Because they did not want to, my child.” Toriel smiled patiently. “Chara never did them for recognition, praise, or to woo you. They did them simply because they knew it would make you happy or just make your day a little brighter, and for them, that was reward enough.”

To further prove their point, Toriel and Sans listed a dozen more examples of all the acts of kindness Chara had done for them, but Frisk had zoned out long ago. “Has… Has Chara really been doing all this for so long?”

“Oh Frisk,” Toriel giggled slightly. “I can’t count the number of times Chara has asked me for advice on all the little surprises and kindnesses they’ve secretly done for you.”

“I… never knew…” Frisk whispered, leaning heavily into the couch. “And I… I just yelled at them, saying they didn’t care. What have I _done?_ ”

“It was an honest mistake, Frisk,” Toriel consoled them. 

“Yeah, kid. Fights happen.” Sans added. “It’s not the end of the world. You can always make up.”

“Yeah… yeah, I gotta go talk to them,” Frisk said getting up. “I gotta apologize and- Oh! Chara!”

No sooner did Frisk round the couch do they run into Chara marching steadfast towards the front door.

“I-I was… I was just about to find you. I need to tell you- um… where are you going?”

Chara doesn’t look at Frisk as they brush past. They don’t even make an acknowledgement that they even heard the question.

“I’m going to Dad’s house for the night,” they say eerily vacant as they stiffly lurch for the door knob. “You said you needed space, so I’m giving you some.”

“Chara, wait! I-I made a mistake,” Frisk said, their heart filling with dread. “I’m sorry for pushing you away earlier. You said you wanted to talk, and I’m ready to listen now!”

“Well, I don’t have anything to say anymore,” Chara said flatly. “Now _I_ want some time alone. I’ll be back… eventually.”

“Chara, wait!”

But Chara didn’t wait. Instead, they opened the front door and left without a single glance back.

“Oh, what have I done?” Frisk groaned.

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up, Frisk,” Sans said, resting a bony hand on their shoulder. “They’ll come around.”

“I agree with Sans,” Toriel chimed in. “Some time apart to calm down will do you both good. And as long as you two are both patient and honest with each other when Chara returns, I know you two can work through this. Though I do hope Chara takes care… they looked rather serious.”

“Yeah, I saw that too,” Sans said, idly scratching his skull. “They had an expression like they were on a war path.”

“They hate me,” Frisk deduced. “This is my fault. I drove them away.”

Toriel turned to Frisk and quietly consoled them with a gentle hug and reassuring words. Sans on the other hand, kept their eye sockets on the door, his own suspicions rising. That look and that tone they had borne was not one of petty anger. Sans _knew_ that look- that expression of planning, of someone calculating their next move in a very serious game of chess…

Or next victim on a hunting trip.

* * *

The newshound sat at their desk, scrolling through social media on their shiny new iPhone. Idly, they check the time on their equally shiny and new Rolex. Only a couple of hours remained on their latest deadline for the monster sympathizer to reply to their newest “financial request” before leaving them with no other option but to publish the story about their undocumented boyfriend.

Their most recent back and forth had been a tense standoff- the monster hero claiming he had no more funds to spare, and the reporter claiming they had no other stories to print. The journalist knew they were both lying, though. The brat was adopted into a royal family! His pockets were deeper than the Mariana trench. But if he thought he could pull the wool over this reporter’s eyes by holding out on them, boy he had another thing coming. The newshound would just have to remind him who was running the show here.

And hey, if the monster lover was telling the truth and his well had run dry… well, the newshound had certainly drank deep while they could. Their backup stories were surely scandalous enough to tap a new spring once this one dried up for good, and send the tabloid to the top of the charts for at least a little while longer. 

Buuut maybe they’d go ahead and put in their two weeks once they submitted this story regardless. They had worked for their demanding, unappreciative editor long enough at this dead-end job, and the newshound had managed to tuck away a rather hefty nest egg thanks to the kid’s very generous “donations”. They wouldn’t need this tabloid anymore… probably.

A notification popped up on their screen, interrupting their twitter feed.

Ah, looked like the little monster savior finally caved in and replied. Things went so much more smoothly when everyone just cooperated.

The reporter opened the email and began to skim the message. Their eyes raised in curiosity.

_’Listen, I’ve managed to acquire some spare cash and can pay your fee, but I can’t wire it to you over the internet. My bank is getting suspicious of the money transfers. If you’re willing, I can meet with you in public with double of what you’re asking, but it has to be done today. I can’t hang on to this money for long or certain people will get suspicious. Just please hold off on publishing that story a little while longer, okay?’/_

A conniving grin spread across the newshound’s face. 

A one-on-one meeting with the hero of monsters? My, _my,_ what would the public think if they learned he was paying off reporters to cover up a news story? This seemed like a chance of a lifetime. And how exactly did he acquire these “funds” if he had been so short on cash only the day before? 

This seemed like one interesting opportunity for an interview. 

The reporter opened up the reply window and sent a message back. 

_’Name your time and place. I’ll be there.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With this chapter, the Of Two Minds series as a whole is now over one-hundred thousand words long. I'm feeling something, but I sure don't know what. Accomplishment? Ridiculousness? The world may never know.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gettin' into the endgame now, everybody!

Chara closed the email app on their phone. The line had been cast, the bait had been taken. But there was still much to do before they reeled it in.

They pulled the stop chord, readjusting their backpack as they exit the bus. Thoughts distracted as they mentally mapped out each possible scenario before them, they almost forget to make sure to hide the look of absolute murder on their face before ringing Asgore’s doorbell.

“Chara?” Asgore answered the door with a small shock. “Well this is unexpected. Not that I’m not delighted you’ve stopped by for a visit, my child, but what brings you all the way out here so suddenly?”

“Frisk and I had a fight,” Chara said honestly enough. Their eyes scanned the hallways for something specific- something amongst all the flower pots. Rows of rectangle boxes lined the walls like race tracks, but all of them were empty. “I need some time away from them. Is it alright if I spend the night here?”

“You are always welcome in my home,” Asgore smiled. “But Chara… if you and Frisk got into an argument, you need to talk with them, air your grievances and come to an understanding. Don’t be like me and Toriel. Don’t turn your back on the one you care about.”

“I _did_ want to talk,” Chara snapped. “Frisk is the one who ran away from _me_. I’ll go home tomorrow when they’ve cooled down. But… in the meantime, where’s Flowey?”

“In the den, last I checked. Why? What do you-”

“Thanks, Dad,” Chara cut him off before Asgore could ask anymore nosey questions. They made a bee line to the living room, and found a single golden flower making smart remarks while he watched some trashy reality dating show.

“Geez, Janet. You actually believed you had a chance with Chad? Get real, sister. Getting the last rose doesn’t mean you get bragging rights, it means you were already on thin fucking ice. Don’t know what else you expected…”

“Flowey.”

“AAGH!! WHO-?!” The flower’s vines erupted from his pot and scrambled for the remote. Frantically he mashed the buttons until the TV channel changes.

“Wha-!? Chara? W-what are you doing here?”

If they hadn’t been so focused on their objective at hand, Chara might have laughed at his embarrassment, but they were in no mood for jokes.

“I need your help.”

Sensing Chara’s seriousness, Flowey straightened up a little. “With what?”

“I’ve recently discovered that Frisk is being extorted.” Chara spoke without smiling, their gaze intense and brow creased. “I’ve arranged to meet the perpetrator later this afternoon, and I would like to have a friendly _discussion_ with them, if you catch my drift.”

Slowly, Flowey’s grin spread wide, revealing his fangs as he deduced Chara’s intent.

“Ooh, I’d be _delighted_ to help,” He snickered. “Nothing interesting has happened around here in _ages_.” He self-transferred to a portable pot, and motioned for Chara to pick him up. “When can we leave?”

Tucking the flower in one arm, Chara turned towards the kitchen with a calculating glare. 

“As soon as I get some supplies from the cutlery drawer.”

* * *

The journalist sat on the park bench, stealthily peering over the top of their newspaper. Shadows were growing long in the evening sun and street lights began to flicker awake. They glanced around in agitation.

The kid had wisely chosen an open, public place to meet up where plenty of witnesses would be if anything happened to go wrong, but it had been a couple hours now and he still had not shown up. The newshound studied the people in the park, keenly alert for the blue and purple striped shirt he claimed he’d be wearing. But aside from the several children running loose in on the fields, no lone adult matched the description. The reporter’s patience was beginning to grow thin. If he didn’t show soon they’d publish that article just to teach the punk a lesson about wasting their time.

Steadily, the people began to thin as twilight descended, bathing the world in soft shadow. The reporter was just about to call it a night when a figure moved at the edge of their vision. There was a person standing a ways off beneath a street lamp with his back to them. He wore a striped shirt, and had a conspicuously large manila envelope under his arm.

_Finally._

The newshound cleared their throat to get his attention. The young man looked around a bit nervously, but did not turn enough to reveal his face. They shuffled from foot to foot, checked their watch, and then nervously started to walk away. Huffing in indignation, the reporter got to their feet and began to trail them. The brat was too stupid to look around his surroundings. They weren’t gonna let him get away so easily.

He left the park and began to navigate the streets. His pace was quick, and the journalist was having trouble keeping him in their line of sight. He must be scared being alone and out so late. 

They’re so focused on not losing track of him; they don’t notice that this human is far smaller than the one they’ve been reporting on from a distance for the past several weeks. The boy checked his phone and the street signs before hesitantly choosing a direction to turn.

Aww, was he lost? How unfortunate. Too bad there were no monsters to call for help way out here. The newshound cleared their throat again, and this time the boy jumped, turning sharply into an alley. Clicking their tongue, the reporter followed. Stupid idiot! Did he forget who he was supposed to be meeting?

“All right, kid. Enough games,” the journalist said rounding the corner. “Just hand over the money and-”

The alley is empty, save for a lone dumpster against the chain-link fence, and the manila folder abandoned on the ground, as if its owner had simply evaporated.

Warily, the journalist approached. Ha, the brat must’ve chickened out and dropped their cash. His loss. Without meeting them face to face, the newshound could claim they never received payment and demand even _more_ money next time-

The reporter greedily opened the folder- 

-but it’s empty.

“What?”

**“Greetings.”**

The reporter practically jumped out of their skin at the sound of the smooth voice, colder than a grave. They snap their head up and found the boy they had been tailing sitting on the dumpster. He made no noise. No indication how he simply appeared.

“So you are the lowlife bottom feeding scum that’s been publishing those stories on Frisk, I presume?”

He sat with one leg drawn up and one dangling over the edge of the dumpster while picking the dirt out from beneath his nails with the tip of a steak knife. All traces of the shaky, vulnerable uncertainty that had lured the journalist in had vanished. He doesn’t even bother looking up, as if acknowledging the newshound’s presence isn’t even worth expending the energy on.

All at once the reporter realized that this wasn’t the young man who had pathetically begged him in an email not to print a scathing story. This was the _other_ one.

“What’s it to you?” the newshound growled. As if they were going to be intimidated by some dumb kid. “It’s none of _your_ business.”

The boy stopped his preening and shifted his eyes up to meet theirs. Moonlight glinted off his knife and reflected into his eyes, illuminating his blood-red irises. He stared right through them, as if scrutinizing every atom of their being and not finding a single one redeemable. An involuntary shutter ran down the reporter’s back. Anyone could say those were the eyes of a killer if they saw them off-hand, but when those eyes were focused on you, they said they would do much, _much_ worse. 

“Oh, I think anything that involves my other half is my business,” He said calmly. “Especially when it involves blackmail and exaction.”

“Blackmail?” The journalist scoffed. “Exaction? Kid, you’re confused. I ain’t exacting anyone. Your boyfriend and I simply have a business arrangement to-”

In a motion fast than the eye could see, the boy on the dumpster swung his arm with lighting speed. The air _sings_ a note, high and shrill, only to get cut off all too quick with a resounding _thwack_.

Icy terror crawled up the reporter’s legs as tufts of hair drift down in front of their eyes. A peculiar new breeze caresses their scalp. Almost against their will, they turn their head, agonizingly slow, until they find the steak knife imbedded in the wall behind them, centimeters above their head. The accuracy of the throw is no mistake. It was a _warning shot_.

“Let me cut to the chase,” they boy said, drawing up to his full height on the dumpster. He tilted his head up just enough to be looking down his nose at the reporter. “I am in no mood for mind games, or words to deceive or mislead the one another. You have been taking advantage of my other half,” with a shake of their wrist, another knife slipped into his hand. “And I intend to put an end to it. _Permanently_.”

Reflexively the newshound tried to take a step back, but found their feet had been literally rooted to the spot with tick, thorny tendrils.

“Y-y-you physically assaulted me!” The reporter barked, pointing to their new haircut. “I-I can cave you detained and charged!” 

“Shut up,” The boy said insouciantly, and with a flick of his wrist, launched another knife at the reporter, this time slicing through a sleeve. Another warning shot to let them know he _could_ hit them at any time if he so desired. Before the reporter can blink, a third knife is already in his hand, waiting its turn to be thrown next. “Such a sad sight you are,” The boy said, inspecting the blade’s edge for any imperfection. “A journalist with over ten years of experience under their belt, yet you still live in a one bedroom apartment and are two months behind on rent. You can only afford one more bad mark from your employer before you’re inevitably terminated, so in a desperate attempt to save your own skin, you’ve resorted to leeching onto those a little better off than you like a parasite and managed to squirrel away some extra cash with this little side job you’ve got going.” 

The reporter paled. “H-how did you-?”

“You are not the only one who can stalk a person, you know. If you give back every penny you stole from my other half, and resign from working for the Enquirer, I might consider letting you off with your life.”

“I-I can have you arrested for threatening m-me!” The reporter shouted, challenging the boy’s bluff. “You may think you’re untouchable because you’re surrounded by celebrities and monsters, but you’re still bound by the law too! You’re still just human like the rest of us!”

“Human?” The boy smirked and began to giggle, then began to laugh, and kept laughing until the sound began to morph and reverberate as if there were two voices- the second one an echo of the first but more shill and maniacal.

The boy covered his face, his whole body shaking as he howled, until at last his fit had passed and he stood, heaving.

Slowly, he looked back up, and met the reporters face, eyes and mouth dripping with inky black ichor and a smile that twisted unnaturally across his face.

_**“What makes you think I’m human?”** _

Flicking an arm up high, dozens of thorny vines erupted from the ground. He swung his arm forward, pointer finger aimed for the dead center of the reporter’s chest, and the vines _arched_ , raining down and stabbing the ground like hungry claws as they scrabbled towards their target.

The reporter screamed and stumbled back, falling hard on their ass as they tore their ankles free of the thorny shackles and scrambled out of the alley. The vines breeched through the earth like sharks honing in on their pray, hot on the journalist’s heels as they went shrieking into the night.

* * *

Only when the cries of bloody murder have gone out of ear shot does Chara climb down from the dumpster.

They pulled a baby wipe out of their pocket and scrubbed the chocolate syrup off their face. Some of it dripped onto their sleeve before they could catch it and Chara clicked their tongue in disappointment. Damn it. That was gonna stain. And Frisk liked this sweater.

Chara walked over to the alley wall and pried the steak knife out of the brick. With a sigh, they tucked it away back in the leather sheathe up their arm. 

They wish they could have used switch blades instead. They were easier to conceal, _far_ easier to throw, and less likely to spark questions like “why are all the kitchen knives bent and nicked?” They would, however, give points to steak knives for being flashier and more intimidating. The glint they gave off was far more reflective and menacing, and finding half a dozen switch blades lying around the house on short notice was, frankly, a little more challenging than find a half a dozen kitchen knives. But at the end of the day, kitchen knives just screamed “over compensating” to them. They picked up the second knife and hid it away. Ah, well. What was done was done. No use nit-picking it now.

Beside them, Flowey surfaced, laughing like a kid on Christmas.

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Did you see their face?! They practically wet themselves! God that was such a good prank!” The golden flower morphs his face into a devilish grin, complete with blackened eyes and fangs, and grates his voice into a raspy hiss. “You want I make sure they know we mean business?”

Chara glanced around the alley and noticed a small rectangular object lying on the ground. Looked like someone lost their phone.

Moving as if wearing blinders, Chara picked up the phone and fiddled with the buttons. Ah, lucky them. Only a swipe to unlock.

Flowey chortled a bit more, but his laugh died away when they catch sight of Chara’s face. Their expression is completely neutral in the most unsettling of ways, but their eyes say it all. Flowey let his laugh trail off, trying to hide it in a cough. The last time he had seen Chara’s face so dead focused, they had been cramming buttercups down their throat. It was unnerving to see that stone cold expression on their face again.

“So, uh, you want me to make sure they know we’re not just making empty threats?” Flowey asked again.

“If you wish,” Chara said, distractedly. “But don’t let yourself be seen and don’t actually hurt them. After you chase them for a few blocks, let them think they’ve lost you.”

“I’m on it,” Flowey grinned, and retreated back into the ground.

Chara waited a bit to ensure Flowey was truly gone before turning back to their find. With a blank stare, they start sifting through the contacts and texts, searching for any kind of personal information on the two people Chara wanted to pin down ever since Frisk’s eighteenth birthday, like, oh, I don’t know, a street address or phone number. They open the emails and search for the two names they had burned into their memory.

Bingo. A hit. Chara began to walk, already constructing phase two in their mind. Now all they needed to do was somehow trace the email’s IP, which would allow them to triangulate the location of the senders, and-

“Yo, bucko. What’re you doing out here so late?”

Chara leaped a foot in the air. Their fingers fumbled to maintain a grip on the phone. They snap their head to the side so fast, they almost give themselves whiplash, only to find a certain portly skeleton lazily leaning against the building right outside of the alley.

“Sans.” Chara spoke, saying the name neutral and blunt. “What are you doing here.”

“Hey, I asked first,” Sans teased, pushing away from the wall. “Hanging out in alley ways in the pitch black isn’t something kids your age normally do at this hour. Mighty suspicious if you ask me.”

“I was… having a discussion with someone.”

“A discussion that sent them screaming for their life into the night,” Sans pointed out. “Should I be worried?”

“It doesn’t concern you.”

“Buddy, if I have reason to believe you’re going back to your old ways, then I have every right to be concerned. I can’t have a potential threat running loose around my friends and family.”

Chara scoffed, feeling slighted. “ _I_ am _not_ the threat here! _They_ are! Sans, do you remember the Ebott Enquirer incident?”

“What? That gossip piece from months back? What about it?”

“Well it didn’t end there. Turns out the journalist who wrote that article has been blackmailing Frisk for months, stealing money from them and getting their biological parents to harass them every hour of the day! They even tried to use _me_ against Frisk, threatening to have me arrested for lack of citizenship. _They_ were the one causing the problem. _I_ just decided to end it.”

“Kid, do you even _think_ before you act?” Sans huffed. “That reporter’s not just gonna go home and hide their head under their pillow. You’ve only dug a hole deeper for yourself and it’s gonna come back to bite you. If you knew all this was happening, you should have told the police, not tried to deal with it yourself.”

“Oh, as if the police would have fucking done anything,” Chara sneered. “You _know_ how humans are, Sans. Sure, they’ll brag about being all buddy-buddy with monsters if it makes them look good. They’ll claim they’re progressive and inclusive and diverse, but deep down each and every one of them is just as selfish and xenophobic as the next.

“If the media hears monsters are being discriminated against, who are they going to believe? It was a shit show when the Dogi correctly found the criminal who threw the brick through our window, so how is the media going to react when monsters accuse a news outlet for extorting one of their own? Even a tabloid has connections and money and control on how the story reads. If the police even help you in the first place, do you think the other papers are going to report it fairly?”

“Buddy, listen. I get where you’re coming from, I really do. You don’t want to see someone important to you get hurt. But threatening anyone who looks at you the wrong way doesn’t make you valiant. It just makes you a bully.”

“I didn’t kill them, Sans.” Chara murmured after a pause. “I could have… I wanted to… but I didn’t. I don’t want Frisk’s perception of me to change.”

“Ah, so is Frisk the only thing keeping you from going on murderous rampage? That’s quite a lot of responsibility to put on them. If one day Frisk wises up and dumps you like they should, are all bets gonna be off?”

Chara didn’t answer. They couldn’t meet his eyes.

“And deciding _not_ to kill someone is a pretty low set bar, bucko,” Sans when on. “I’m afraid you’re gonna have to come up with a better excuse than that for what you’ve done here tonight.”

“You wouldn’t be saying that if you knew what these people have done to them,” Chara muttered, refusing to look at the skeleton beside them.

Sans pinched the bridge of his nasal bone, rubbing small circles at the corners of his eye sockets. Getting through to this brat was gonna be harder than he thought. Scratching his chin he switched to a different angle. 

“Gotta say, kid, it was pretty uncool of you to punish Frisk like that by running off just ‘cause they got mad at you.”

“ _Punish?!_ ” Chara’s head snapped up at once, their teeth bared. “I would _never_ manipulate Frisk like that! You take that back!”

“Hey, maybe that wasn’t your intent, but that’s certainly how Frisk felt after you left. Perhaps you should go home and apologize for making them feel like shit if what I said upset you so much.”

Chara waivered. “I will… eventually. But not tonight. There are still things I have to do first before I can go home.” They grip the phone a little tighter. Sans noticed.

“So… whatcha got there?” Sans asked, nodding at the device.

“It’s just a phone.” Chara reluctantly said, knowing any other answer would make them look suspicious.

“Is it yours?” Sans asked, clearly enjoying the interrogation.

“…No.” Chara said through gritted teeth.

“Ah, so you stole it from that guy you cornered.”

“I did no such thing!” Chara retaliated. “They _dropped_ it and I picked it up.”

“And you were just on your way to return it, right?” 

“I will… later. I still need it to find two other useless oxygen wasters and deal with them first.” Chara spat.

Sans sighed. It was gonna get nowhere with this unless he snapped the punk out of their murderous mindset first.

“So you didn’t kill the reporter, props to you, I guess.” Sans said cautiously. “So what were you planning on doing when you found Frisk’s genetic parents?”

Chara’s jaw visibly tightened and they looked away.

“I thought so. Hand over the phone.”

“No. It’s not yours.”

“True, but it ain’t yours either.” Sans shrugged. “C’mon, bud. Don’t make me force you.”

“You can’t make me do anything,” Chara hissed.

“If I have to pin you to the ground to prevent a double homicide tonight, I will,” Sans said.

Chara shot him a side-long glare, clearly unconvinced. Sans rolled his eyes.

“C’mon, kid. I don’t want to be here all night. You _have_ to let it go, bud. Be the better person and get justice served the right way.”

“Let it go?” Chara echoed, their voice raising. “Just _let it go_?? That is the _worst_ way to deal with it, Sans! I’m sorry I can’t ever be as forgiving as Frisk, but brushing off everything and everyone that’s ever wronged you is not only an unrealistic mentality, Sans, but also a _dangerous_ one!” Chara waved their hands with fervor, pantomiming their point. “Why do _I_ always have to be the better person anyway, Sans? For some imaginary moral points on a karma scale? If I’m always ‘The Better Person’ then that means abusers get off Scott-free with their actions! It’s not okay to always say “it’s okay!” People need to be held responsible for their actions! People need to be punished for those they intentionally hurt!” 

They began to pace in agitation, fingers curled into claws as they ranted. “Turning the other cheek or just letting everything “roll of your back” doesn’t make you better than those who are cruel; it just tells those who wish to harm you that you’re free game because you won’t fight back!” They shout their last words inches from his face before stepping back, huffing and puffing after their emotional tirade.

“You don’t even know what horrible things Frisk’s parents have DONE to them! All the restraining orders and fines in the world won’t stop these two from trying to hurt Frisk if they know they still can! Frisk has never willing shared a single detail about their life before their fall with me they never have and never will. And that’s just what these two _want_ , Sans, they _want_ Frisk to say silent so they can never be held accountable for what they’ve done! Frisk is utterly _terrified_ of these two and they know it! And I’d bet, if they could, these two would push Frisk to go silent forever so nobody ever finds oud what they did to them! They almost succeeded once!”

For a solid minute, Sans doesn’t say anything. He simply stood and stared as Chara trembled with hatred, waiting for them to burn themselves out.

“Kid… if you think you’re doing Frisk a favor for them by confronting their birth parents, you’ve got it all wrong,” The skeleton said at last, quiet and careful. “I know you don’t want Frisk to be hurt. None of us do. But what will they think of you when they find out what you did?”

“What makes you think I’d tell them? Frisk doesn’t need to know.”

“Buddy, I used to think it was cute how you would go out of your way to do little nice gestures for Frisk without expecting any sort of recognition in return, but this kinda crosses the line. If you don’t tell Frisk what you did here tonight, I will. You said you didn’t want Frisk’s perception of you to change, right? So, look at your position right now. Look at your choices. Make the choice Frisk would want you to make.”

Chara stood there unmoving for an uncomfortably long time, their head bowed and face hidden in the shadow of their hair. They tremble so violently that Sans feared they'd crack the phone in their death grip. But then, little by little with shaking hands, they slowly, reluctantly, forfeit it over.

“Low blow, Sans." Chara muttered. "Using Frisk against me like that."

“Hey, what'djya expect? You know I don't fight fair,” Sans winked. He tucked the phone into one of his pockets. “Thanks kid. You won’t regret this, I promise.”

“You promise?” Chara repeated, disbelieving. “But you hate making promises.”

“True, but I wanna let you know I mean what I said. Now go fetch your pet Flower and go home. We’re done here tonight.”

* * *

Chara sighed in defeat, but obeyed the order; sulking off in the direction they last saw Flowey. Sans waited until Chara was out of sight before pulling the reporter’s phone back out and walking off in the other direction. He didn’t particularly have an idea of where he was going, but he knew his feet would get him where he needed to be. His short cuts had a funny way of working like that sometimes. 

Meandering aimlessly, Sans opened the email app on the phone and began to skimming the logs between the reporter and Frisk to find out what exactly had flipped Chara’s switch to go on a righteous crusade for revenge. The further he scrolled, the more disgusted he became as he forced himself to read through each message sent by the birth parents, recounting in great detail the cruel and abhorrent parenting methods they had used to “discipline” their unruly child. They almost seemed to brag about some of the abuse they used. Intimidation, threats, humiliation, gaslighting, physical violence, _starvation_. Their words were twisted around to turn them into excuses, as if to say they were _justified_ in their actions towards Frisk.

If Sans had skin, it surely would be crawling. Sans did not necessarily agree with Chara’s mentality that all wrong-doings should face capital punishment, but he would also point out that the key word was “all”. He would openly agree there would be exceptions and undeniable crimes that could not be forgiven. He would even vouch that this was one of them. (It’d be hypocritical if he didn’t based on his mistrust of the red-eyed human).

Despite Chara’s misgivings on if the police would help monsters, Sans decided then and there that all of this would be sent to the authorities, no matter the outcome it brought. Any lawyer worth his salt would be able to see this was undeniable proof of extortion. And if they tried to accuse the monsters of fabricating the stories, well, then they’d have to defend themselves not only from monsters, but the scrutinizing eye of the world at large if they tried to brush _this_ story off. 

But Sans would go to the police later. He was very curious to learn what kind of people could produce such a child as kind and caring as Frisk, yet torture them enough that said child was driven to climb a mountain ten years ago, determined to never return.

He decided he’d pay them a visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to take a minute to remind you all that this story started with the main character slipping and falling in the tub from jerking off too hard, and now, thirty thousand words and six chapters later they're attempting to murder their lover's abusive parents. 
> 
> Fan fiction is a fucking miracle guys.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas you filthy animals.
> 
> *fires an entire magazine from a tommy gun*
> 
> And a Happy New Year!
> 
> (EDIT: I fixed some egregious grammar errors I missed from my first edit. Everything should be in the correct tense now. Don't drink and revise, kids)

Chara awoke late the next morning to a flurry of activity in Asgore’s house after a restless night alone and shivering in Asgore’s spare bedroom. (Damn their body’s piss-poor thermoregulation).

Groggy and exhausted, they stumble into the kitchen, surprised to discover they are no longer the only guest Asgore is having over. A dozen monsters that Chara recognized (and several professionally dressed humans that Chara didn’t,) were huddled around the kitchen table, pouring over email print outs with highlighters and a dozen annotated issues of the Ebott Enquirer dating up to six months back.

Alphys was clipping out the tabloid articles and putting them in a timeline on the floor, Undyne and police officers were reviewing law books, Asgore was busy talking on the phone to a bank teller, inquiring about recent transactions, and Toriel and a human were reading through the stack of printed out emails.

“Ah, read this wording here,” Toriel murmured to a human in a suit, pointing to a sentence in one of the email printouts. “It suggests the reporter was going to reveal our address to Frisk’s birth parents if Frisk did not comply.”

“Mmhm, just another threat to add to the tally,” the human- which Chara was going to guess was a lawyer of some sort- nodded gravely.

Chara stood silently in the hall at a loss for words. They rubbed their eyes and blinked several times, hardly believing what they were seeing, but the scene did not change. At last someone looked up and saw them standing dumbly in the door way.

“Ah! Good morning, Chara!” Asgore’s eyes brightened when he noticed them. “I apologize for the chaos. I hope we didn’t disturb your sleep.”

“No… I’m fine,” Chara mumbled. “What’s all this?”

“Well, the most outrageous thing happened this morning,” Asgore said seriously. “I woke up at the crack of dawn to a call from Undyne, who said she got a message from Toriel, who had received word from Sans, who said that-“

“The Ebott Enquirer has been secretly threatening and robbing Frisk, it seems,” Toriel interrupted. “Yesterday Sans discovered a copy of the magazine with you two on the cover. Despite my request for monsters to stay away from the tabloid, I am glad he decided to look further into it, because he uncovered that this coercion has been going on for months.”

“Yeah,” Sans said alarmingly close to Chara from behind, making them jump. “I was kinda worried about Frisk’s behavior after their outburst yesterday,” the skeleton winked. “And I decided to look into it. I even tried contacting the journalist themselves, but the editors told me they had suddenly resigned only a few hours earlier. I told them our situation, and they handed over their email history. Guess the dude could sense their time was up and decided to cut and run while they could. Don’t worry, though. We’re issuing a warrant for their arrest.”

Chara stayed silent, trying to follow Sans’ story, picking apart which pieces had been altered and which had been fabricated.

“It explains a lot, does it not?” Toriel said. “The reason why Frisk was so short tempered with you yesterday? Realizing they were trying to shoulder all of this on their own for your protection, can you blame them for being stressed?”

“No, I don’t,” Chara said, then carefully asked. “Did I hear you mention Frisk’s birth parents?”

Toriel’s face darkened. “Yes. I will not repeat what I have read in the emails, but I will say the things Frisk’s birth parents have confessed in confidence are unimaginable crimes against them. Police have already issued a warrant for their arrest as well.”

With that, Toriel went back to work and Chara could only watch on in awed disbelief. So many monsters and humans all trying to help just one person… they almost thought they were dreaming until Sans cleared his throat and motioned Chara to step to the side.

“Sans… did you do all this?” Chara asked.

“Hey, what’d I tell ya, kid? We can get justice done right.” Sans winked. “After all, you and I and all the other monsters, we’d do anything to protect our favorite human, wouldn’t we?”

Chara couldn’t help but smile fondly. “Yeah… yeah we would. Thank you… for all this. If… If you didn’t stop me yesterday, I could… I could have-”

“Hey, don’t sell yourself short, kid,” Sans shrugged. “You didn’t _have_ to listen to me last night. I knew you had no less than three knives on you, yet you chose not to pull them on me once. You’ve come a long way yourself, you know.”

“You can thank Frisk for that,” Chara sighed. “I was attached to them for eight years, Sans. If I had been stuck with anyone else an ounce less patient or understanding, I don’t think I’d be standing here at all today. They… they mean a lot to me.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice, bucko,” Sans said, patting Chara’s shoulder. “They mean a lot to us too.”

Chara spent the rest of their morning in a haze, their mind distracted on what to say to Frisk when they would inevitably cross paths again. Should they open with an apology? Or should they jump straight into explaining they discovered Frisk’s blackmail? They considered and planned, and predicted each outcome all the way on the bus ride home, but then realized how they’re thinking again and shook their head in frustration. Ultimately, it wouldn’t matter _what_ Chara said about what happened last night if Frisk still believed Chara didn’t love them. It’s then Chara realized that they’d have to prove it first before even attempting to say anything else.

Before they knew it, they’re hesitantly standing on their front porch, dreading the confrontation that waited within. Chara did not fear violence, or pain, or death, but Frisk's potential disapproval scared them to their core. 

Their heart hammering so hard it threatened to break out of their chest, Chara knew what they had to do.

Nervously they unlocked the door, and entered the house.

\--

Frisk reluctantly rejoined the waking world after an uncomfortably silent and lonely night. Having grown accustomed to Chara’s weight beside them each morning, the conspicuous lack of it made everything feel… off. It wasn’t necessarily _bad_ , but it felt _wrong_ , like they were missing something important.

Frisk sat up, a faint pang in their breast, and placed their hand over their heart. They hadn’t had chest pain in months. Was it psychosomatic? Sorrow? Was their soul half trying to call out its missing piece? Or was it all in their imagination?

Frisk slid their legs over the corner of the bed and sighed. Absently, they reached for their phone, but stopped and thought better of it. They didn’t want to read any notifications or inevitable emails from the newshound in their current state. They didn’t need the extra stress so early in the morning.

Frisk groaned in remorse and put their face in their hands, noting the rough texture of stubble on their chin. They’d need to shave today… and shower, and get dressed, and eat, but they didn’t really feel like doing anything at all. Even waking up felt like a waste of energy.

Should they try calling Chara and apologize? They had tried last night, but either Chara’s phone had been off or they had ignored the call, because for whatever reason Chara didn’t answer.

Toriel recommended Frisk wait. Chara had said they’d come back, after all. Sans suggested Frisk not call at all. Let Chara be the one to grovel for forgiveness. But Frisk didn’t want to play mind games. They certainly didn’t want to beg either, but they _had_ to let Chara know they were sorry, they had to say _something_ …

Oh, how could they have been so heartless? After weeks of trying to protect Chara from the tabloid, they go and chased Chara off on their own. The one thing they didn’t want to lose most, pushed away by their own hand.

Frisk sat motionless for several minutes, until they sensed the unsettling feeling of being watched. Nervously, they looked to the window, but the curtains are drawn. They turned to the door instead, and their heart skipped a beat when their eyes fall on Chara, watching them from the doorway.

“Oh! Chara! You’re back!” Frisk said in a mixture of surprise and apprehension. “Listen, I’m really sorry about yesterday. I… I over reacted and you didn’t deserve that, a-and I should have just listened to you and tried to talk it out-”

“Stop talking.”

The words in Frisk’s mouth died off at once, and they nervously watched as Chara shucked off their backpack and carefully strode across the room. Their expression is unreadable, but their fingers and knees shook with trepidation. Not once did Chara look away from Frisk’s face, nor did they blink as they approached.

“Um… what… what are you doing?” Frisk asked, uncertain of Chara’s strange behavior as they closed in.

“I’m going to kiss you.” Chara said bluntly, though their voice quivered ever so slightly, and brought their hands up to cradle Frisk’s face.

“What-“

Whatever Frisk planned to say get cut off at once as Chara pressed their mouth against Frisk’s. Frisk froze, their mind instantly gone blank and heart fibrillating, too shocked to comprehend what was happening. All they knew was that Chara’s lips were on their own, and time seemed to stop and they felt only the sliiiightest bit completely, utterly, terrified. 

Each second that passed felt like an hour. When their sheer surprise finally ebbed, Frisk’s shoulders un-tensed and their eyelids slipped closed. Faintly, they’re aware that they’re falling back, but they can’t tell if it’s because Chara was pushing into the kiss too hard or if Frisk was leaning back and pulling Chara down with them.

They hit the mattress with a soft bounce, making their teeth click, and all of Chara’s weight came down on their lap as they sat, but Chara held the kiss a few seconds more before they finally pull away and sat up, trapping Frisk in a straddle.

Light headed and dizzy, Frisk’s eyes fluttered open, and found Chara, eyes screwed shut and frowning. Their face was pinched, like they just sucked on a lemon.

For several moments no one spoke. No one moved.

“Chara?” Frisk asked tentatively. 

“That was the weirdest thing I’ve ever done.” Chara whispered, squinting open one eye. 

Frisk’s heart fell in disappointment. “Was it really that bad?”

“I’m never doing that again,” Chara’s shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry, Frisk. I just can’t stand the feeling of squishy lips and slimy tongues on my face or the sour taste of someone else’s breath in my mouth. It skeeves me out and I don’t know why. A-and I just _know_ you’d never do it, but I’ve got this irrational fear that you might scream in my ears when you’re that close and it just freaks me out _so much-_ ”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Frisk broke in, cutting off Chara’s rambling. “Is that why you would always get so tense whenever I kissed you? Because you were scared?”

Chara blushed in shame. “A little, yeah.”

“Chara, why didn’t you say anything?” Frisk whimpered. “I would have stopped if I knew you didn’t like it.”

“Do you remember what you said yesterday?” Chara asked.

“Every word, unfortunately.”

“Well, you were _right_ , Frisk. I’m willing to suck dick, and eat you out, and do a dozen other sexual acts, but I’m squeamish about kissing on the lips? It’s pathetic! And _you_ seemed to enjoy it, so I never said anything about it.”

Frisk sighed in sympathy. “It’s okay... We’ve all got our limits. You’ve never pushed me to do something that made me uncomfortable, and I’m sorry that I did that to you. Even unknowingly.” Frisk gave a timid little laugh that sounded more defeated than jovial. “I guess I should tell you, but I had this little fantasy, where I wanted to tally up the number of kisses it would take me to cover every inch of you. Guess I’ll never know now.”

Chara exhaled and rolled off of Frisk to lie beside them. “It… it wasn’t all bad,” They confessed. “I actually got… kinda got excited… when you kissed my body. It’s just anywhere near my face that unnerves me, so… if you want to keep counting, you can.”

Frisk wrapped an arm around Chara and hugged them tight, fighting the urge to just kiss them right then and there, but they could not. They hadn’t fully apologized yet and they wouldn’t let themselves get distracted.

“Chara, I’m really sorry for… for everything I did yesterday. Yelling at you, accusing you of not loving me, and turning my back on you when you tried to talk to me. You didn’t deserve any of that. You had every right to distance yourself from me.”

“Frisk, you don’t need to apologize because you were _right_ , okay?” Chara argued. “I _would_ try and use the loophole of “I never said I loved you” as a justification against you, wouldn’t I? That sounds _exactly_ like something I would do to protect my own heart. And you’re not the only one who did something wrong. I’m sorry for storming out of the house like that and making you think it was your fault. My behavior was pretty shitty.”

“Hey, I was acting like a shit too, so don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“So should we both agree we were being shit-heads and call it even?”

“Um, I don’t think both of us admitting we were being shitty cancel them out. I think it just means we need to get a check-up to make sure we both aren’t turning into literal ass holes.”

Chara chuckled at the clever word play, smiling fondly. After a minute, though, their smile began to fade.

“Frisk, I know I said I was sorry, but… I still haven’t been completely honest with you,” Chara admitted. “I… I went through your email history yesterday and figured out why you got so mad at me… why you thought I didn’t love you.”

Beside them, Frisk went still with trepidation. 

“And the reason I left yesterday wasn’t to get away from you for a few hours, or to make you feel guilty for having an outburst. The reason I left was because… I confronted your blackmailer, and I’m sorry… for invading your privacy and going behind your back like that.”

Frisk was quiet for several minutes, their jaw working as they tried to speak. At last they find some words.

“The… the reporter,” Frisk started. “Did… did you…?”

Chara could tell what Frisk is trying to ask, though they don’t want to say it- they don’t want to accuse Chara of the crime they can see in their mind’s eye.

“No,” Chara assured them. “They’re alive and unharmed, but I promise I was never intending to injure them. I just wanted to scare them so bad they’d never want to look in your general direction ever again. Much less publish another story on you. I was almost going to confront the… _other two_ as well, but Sans stopped me before I had a chance to track them down. I’m glad he did. I only wanted to intimidate the reporter, but after reading what those two did to you, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have let them live if I had found them. Sans is working with Mom and Dad and the police now, by the way. He promised he’d help you get back every penny that was stolen from you.”

Beside them, Chara felt Frisk begin to tremble, and their breath became ragged as they struggled to hold back tears.

“Frisk?” Chara asked, suddenly concerned they had said something wrong.

“I was… so scared,” Frisk’s voice choked. “A-after the adoption battles all those years ago when they didn’t step up and claim me, I thought… I thought I’d never ever have to even _think_ about them again, b-but then they found out about the paper and indirectly started attacking me again from there…” Frisk’s voice squeaked and cracked as they struggled to talk. “I-I did everything the tabloid asked t-to keep them from haunting me, b-but then they started asking for information on _you_ , and I didn’t want to give it to them, so they threatened to publish what m-my birth parents said about me and what they _did_ to me. Th-they pretended to give me a choice. They… they threatened to h-have you t-taken away from m-me, and I could not- _would not_ \- let that happen, so I let them h-hurt me all over again because I didn’t know what else to _do_.”

Chara hugged Frisk tight, burying their face into Frisk’s chest as they cried out the months’ worth of repressed agony and stress. They said nothing, not even a shush of solace, knowing it would be better if Frisk let it all out.

“M-maybe they’re right a-and I did deserve it. Maybe e-everything they s-said about me was true since I was clearly s-stupid enough to not t-tell anyone and let them get to me _again_ -” Frisk sobbed.

“No, Frisk,” Chara said definitively. “No one _ever_ deserves to be treated how they treated you. No one ever “deserves” it. _You_ never deserved it, and I’ll tell you that as many times as it takes until you believe me.”

“I-I-I’m terrified of them, Chara,” Frisk whispered. “The very thought of even _seeing_ them again scares me to death, b-but the thought of losing you is even worse.”

“Well… I have some good news for you then,” Chara said, matter-of-factly. “I am still here, and I swear those two will never ever contact you again in any shape or form. Sans and I made sure of it.”

Frisk sighed in utter relief, though they still sniffled and hiccupped for several minutes more.

“Thank you… for coming back,” Frisk whispered between ragged breaths. “It’s an awful feeling having to wake up alone. Sometimes I think life’s not worth living if you’re not there with me…”

At this, Chara sighed and closed their eyes in disappointment. Catharsis was one thing, but that line of thinking was _dangerous_ no matter how "romantic" it may have sounded in the moment, and needed to be nipped in the bud before it could worsen. They did not like what they had to say next.

“Frisk, let me tell you a story,” Chara said, sitting up and looking them in the eye. “This morning I woke up, I got dressed, and I ate breakfast. And you know what? I did it all without you.”

“Chara, if you’re trying to make me feel better, you’re not helping.”

“What I’m trying to say, Frisk, is that, if I have to, I _can_ live without you. I know we like to tease that we are each other’s “other half”, but that does not mean you aren’t functional without me. A half dollar coin is still a complete coin with value. The quarter moon still pulls the tides. _You're_ still a whole person.”

“Chara?”

“I guess what I’m trying to say is please don’t say things like ‘life’s not worth living if I’m not there', because it _is_. I know that now, and you should too. But… just because I can live without you, doesn’t mean I want to. It’s dull and boring and- well, it’d still be dull and boring even with you there, but it’d be far less lonely. So… promise me you’ll continue to live and survive if one day, for one reason or another, I’m not with you anymore?”

“I… I promise,” Frisk nodded. They sat up beside their other half. “Are we... Are we both gonna be okay?”

“Hold on. I’ve got one more apology I need to get off my chest,” Chara said, their voice shaking. They took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm themselves. Frisk couldn’t help but notice that their eyes were getting moist. Whatever else they must’ve had left to say they had intentionally saved for last, seeing how much it pained them to get out.

“I wanted to say that I’m sorry… for making you think I didn’t love you, even for a second. You’re the most important thing in my life, Frisk. I would renounce my own atheism for you, preach scripture on every corner of the earth, and write a hundred theses insisting something divine _must_ be out there if someone as perfect as you exist. But… when you needed to hear them most, I just couldn’t say those words to you. A-and I still can’t…”

“Chara,”

“And it’s not like I don’t want to! But every time I do, something goes _wrong_ with them! I loved Toriel and Asgore, and I ruined their marriage!”

“Chara.”

“I loved Asriel and I ended up killing him! I loved all of monsterkind and I forced them to stay trapped underground for centuries!”

“ _Chara._ ”

“I didn’t even _say_ I loved you and you still got hurt because of me because of those articles.” Chara heaved. "And I still can't say those words, or kiss you, or _prove_ to you how much you mean to me in the way you want because I just know it's somehow gonna hurt you _again_ , and I'm not allowed to hurt you-"

“Chara, what was said in those papers wasn’t your fault,” Frisk insisted, squeezing them close. “And I know you love me now, even if you can’t say it.”

“Can you ever forgive me? For hurting you?” Chara sobbed. “Even though I wasn’t trying to?”

“I already have,” Frisk assured them, kissing them on the shoulder, knowing now that Chara would tolerate it there. “And I always will.”

* * *

The following weeks were nothing if not interesting. The reporter who had written all the slanderous articles for the Ebott Enquirer had been caught and detained, and charged with dozens upon dozens of accounts of theft, extortion, threats and emotional manipulation. The reporter had been found raving about a “demon child with magical powers”, accusing Chara of these acts, but Chara was clearly neither a demon nor had magic, so the judges added an additional charge for lying in court.

The Ebott Enquirer itself was put under fire for allowing the journalist to get away with it for so long and, no longer wanting to be associated with their former reporter, hastily gifted Frisk a check to match the amount stolen from them, and then some. To cover for “emotional damages”, they explained.

Frisk’s birth parents, oddly enough, were never found. Police on the scene suspected they had hastily skipped down when they realized there was a warrant out for their arrest, but detectives claimed the window of time was too short for them to have fled so quickly. Still, they didn’t have a better explanation. There were no signs of a struggle or a fight, and unbeknownst to the investigators, skeletons left no finger prints.

After all the legal stuff had been put to rest, time seemed to pass like a dream, and before they knew it another year had gone by in the blink of an eye. Frisk finished their associate’s degree at the community college and began looking into universities, and Chara started considering online classes to match. The new summer brought new summer jobs (all of whom now surprisingly wanted to hire the monster savior again), and the extra funds gifted by the Enquirer had been enough to cover the deposit on a fairly nice rental home across town. 

No sooner had the lease been singed, monsters began lining up in excitement, eagerly wanting to lend a hand or paw or claw to help their favorite humans move house. Although Frisk and Chara were undeniably thankful to have so many volunteers willing to help them move, with so many cooks in the kitchen what should have taken them a maximum two days to do ended up taking two weeks. In all fairness, the two humans did not have that many possessions they needed to ship. A majority of their items consisted of new house warming gifts, like all the strange and unique abstract art that monsters found beautiful, and useful things, like five blenders, sixteen linen sets, and thirty gallons of laundry soap. And many monsters, though generous, did not have the greatest attention spans, often mixing up moving boxes, re-packing what had already been unpacked and vice versa, and generally crowding the two houses so bad that no movement could be made at all.

At one point during the move, Frisk found themselves separated from Chara as they over saw the unpacking of their things in the new place, making sure that monsters weren’t tossing the silverware into the bath tub and what not, while Chara handled the packing of their last things from home. Frisk didn’t stress about it. They’d be together again soon enough, plus they had plenty of their monster friends for company in the moment.

Frisk busied themselves by setting up Chara’s desk in their new office room (Chara had petitioned that they keep their desks in the master bedroom and turn the spare room into a giant ball pit, but Frisk had firmly said no, explaining that, despite being the biggest room in the house, the master bedroom was still pretty cramped, being a rental home and all, and if they wanted to keep their computer in the bedroom, then they couldn’t upgrade to a king sized bed, and to that Chara reluctantly yielded.) Carefully, they arranged Chara’s fidget toys and knick-knacks in the same order they had back in their old room, and slid the desk drawers back in place like puzzle pieces. When the top draw catches and won’t close right, Frisk pulled it open to investigate.

They expected to find a ruler or stapler jamming the drawer from closing right, but instead a folded piece of paper that had been pushed forward by the rest of the hodgepodge falls out. Now that was strange. Chara was nothing if not organized, even if that organization in itself was chaos. They liked to write down all their notes and thoughts in spirals and journals. They rarely ever used scrap paper, much less saved it. Curious, Frisk unfolded the paper and stole a peak.

Their eyes skim the page, unable to tell what they’re reading at first. It seemed to be a list of some sort- they can piece together that much. There’s a lot of scratch marks from where things had been hastily erased and rewritten, several bullets have question marks and annotations of “maybe” or “possibly” or “When they’re ready.” A few near the bottom have been crossed out with a violent hand several times through to make them completely unreadable.

But what they can read doesn’t make much sense. What did candle wax have in common with collars? What the heck was sounding? Wasn’t bareback a term used in horse riding? And-

Without any warning, the theme of the list hits them at once.

Their face flushed so hard, Frisk could feel their ears burning. Oh. Well then. This was obviously something personal and private to Chara. The paper is surprisingly old, crumbled from being forgotten for so long and starting to yellow at the edges.

Giggling with second-hand embarrassment, Frisk put the paper back… but then picked it back up again this time more intruded than mortified. 

Were… were these things Chara wanted to try in the bedroom? The list was impressively long, and some of the bullet points were a little too extreme for Frisk’s comfort, but hey, they had options.

Perhaps they should ask Chara about it. But would Chara assume Frisk was snooping through their stuff? Maybe… Or maybe not if they surprised Chara instead. 

\--

The last day of moving had been saved primarily for the biggest things left, namely the bookshelves, bureaus and beds. These things proved no problem for the more muscular monsters, like Ice Wolf and Oni, to lift, though fitting them into the compact car proved a challenge. But eventually they managed, and Frisk and Chara declared themselves finally moved in. They had a mini celebration with their friends and family that mostly consisted of feasting on all the free food given to them as house-warming gifts.

One by one, Guests started to depart as evening grew late, until at last, Chara and Frisk were finally alone. 

“What a day!” Chara groaned, stretching out their arms over their head as they stood in the hallway between the den and the dining room. “I’m glad we’re done driving back and forth across town hauling all our stuff over here.”

“Me too,” Frisk agreed, swooping in to hug Chara from behind. “It feels weird to think we live here now, but we’re finally home.”

“Eh, a house isn’t a home until you’ve fucked in every room,” Chara smartly remarked.

Frisk snorted a laugh and slid their hands across Chara’s waist suggestively. “Well, I guess we’d better get started then, or else we’ll never officially be moved in.”

Frisk bent their head down, nuzzling into Chara’s neck and began placing kisses along their left shoulder. Chara let them, tipping their head to the side to give Frisk more room as they responded with hums of approval. Stealthily, Frisk loosened their embrace and began inching their fingers under the hem of Chara’s shirt and forward towards the front of their pants.

Chara let out an encouraging moan of satisfaction as Frisk’s hands unbuttoned their fly and slipped between their waistband, but before long they gently started to pull away.

“Hey, wait,” Chara interrupted, turning around to look at Frisk with hazy eyes. “Don’t you want to take this upstairs? You know, where the bed is?”

“That’s too far away,” Frisk murmured. “And I’ve had to go up and down those dumb stairs all day today. I don’t even want to look at them.”

Chara knit their brown in confusion. “But where will we-?”

“Oh, I’ve got a couple of places in mind,” Frisk said in a sultry tone.

They leaned in again, ready to give attention to the other side of Chara’s neck and, pressing their hands on Chara’s hips, carefully encouraged them to walk backwards.

Chara submitted, grabbing fist-fulls of Frisk’s shirt for balance as they allowed themselves to be guided back, around the dining room table and chairs. Their heart raced with excitement, their breathing shallow and quick and not knowing what to expect. They only take about half a dozen paces in reverse before they bump into the dining room wall. Frisk takes an additional step forward, pressing their hips hard against Chara’s, and pinning them to the wall with an urgent thrust.

“Impatient,” Chara softly teased, feeling the bulge in Frisk’s pants itching against their own arousal that was starting to make itself known.

“Can you blame me? It’s been two weeks,” Frisk reminded them, breathing the words against Chara’s skin. They pressed their knee between Chara’s legs, rubbing hard against Chara’s crotch. Chara groaned in response, rolling their pelvis forward to grind against Frisk’s thigh.

Frisk’s hands glided away from Chara’s waist, clumsily shucking off Chara’s pants without any visual aid to see where they were. Chara mimicked the motion, releasing Frisk’s shirt to fiddle with the zipper on their jeans, but they only managed to unbutton their fly before Frisk signaled for Chara to lift their arms so they can remove their shirt. Chara complied, lifting their arms so Frisk could toss the shirt aside before they slid their hands back across Chara’s body, groping their ass with a lustful squeeze.

Chara, still struggling just to get Frisk’s pants off, let out a lecherous moan.

“H-hold on.” Chara spoke up. “Stop?”

Frisk stopped.

“Do you really want to do this _now?_ ” They asked. “Not that I’m complaining! But… I don’t have any protection or lube on me.”

“Way ahead of you,” Frisk whispered, pawing at one of their pockets. A second later, they fish out a square foil wrapper and a small compact shampoo bottle, which Chara heavily suspected did not contain shampoo.

Chara’s eyebrows arched and they shot Frisk a devilish grin. “Where you _planning_ this?” 

“Nah, just came prepared today,” Frisk explained, passing Chara the condom and taking a step back to give them enough room to do the honors while they popped open the cap of their travel-sized container of lube.

Chara parted Frisk’s fly and unrolled the condom onto their cock centimeter by centimeter, jerking them off in the process. With thumb and pointer finger pinched tight, they pushed it down a little further with each pass, while Frisk clawed off Chara’s underwear with one hand and oiled the cleft of their cheeks with the other.

Once completely bare, Frisk grabbed Chara by the back of their thighs and lifted them up against the wall. Chara inhaled, half in surprise and half in annoyance. Frisk was clearly ready to get started, but Chara was the only one completely stripped. That wasn’t _fair_.

“Are you really gonna do me up against the wall?” Chara panted with unabashed giddy, choosing to push their jealousy to the side.

“I wish, but unfortunately I don’t think I have the arm strength to hold you up that long,” Frisk confessed. “I’ve got another solution, though. Hand on tight.”

Chara obeyed, and Frisk hefted them up, turned two steps to the right, and reclined them as softly as they could onto the table. 

“On the table?” Chara said, more inquisitive than startled. “Not on the couch or something?”

“I repeat- I do not have the arm strength to get that far,” Frisk said, as they began to fondle Chara’s sack.

“I’m just - _hah_ \- surprised you’d want to - _hah_ \- do it on a surface that - _hah_ \- we eat on.” Chara panted as Frisk touched them.

“We’ve got disinfectant,” Frisk said, unconcerned, rolling their thumb and finger around one of Chara’s nipples. “Like, ten bottles of Clorox wipes from Washua was one of the house warming gifts. Or I can put your shirt underneath you, if you want. Unless you don’t want this particular shirt to get dirty, that is.”

“Fuck my shirt. Give it here.” Chara responded.

Smiling, Frisk handed over the shirt. If they were being completely honest, Frisk had chosen the table because it provided the optimal fucking height. The beds were just a little too low, and the counter tops just a little too high, but, like a certain bowl of porridge from a child's nursery rhyme, the table had proven to be just right. 

Chara grabbed the piece of clothing and haphazardly slid it under their butt and spread it out flat as best they could. Then, with needy fingers, they grabbed at Frisk’s shirt and practically yanked them on top. It’s only then that they mentally take back their misplaced jealousy on Frisk being fully clothed. Their shirt made for great hand holds to pull them closer, squeezing Frisk tight with their knees.

“Since this is our house, you know what this means, right?” Chara said.

“What?”

“I’m gonna be as loud as I want and don’t you stop unless I say so. I’m ready whenever you are.”

Frisk didn’t need any more invitation. They dragged Chara’s hips forward until they were almost hanging off the edge, and with one lustful buck, they impaled themselves into Chara down to the base.

“ _Ngh, yes!_ ” Chara groaned, throwing their head back and arching their spine. Frisk readjusted their stance for better balance before grabbing Chara’s waist once more and began thrusting at a cantering pace.

Chara made good on their promise not to hold back their voice. They let out a chorus of colorful swears mixed in with their gasps as Frisk stretched them loose, before melting into a stream of sweet nothings and whimpers peppered with stray moans of pure delight.

It was a startling difference for Frisk at first. Maybe the room was just more prone to amplifying echo. Or maybe, knowing no one else could hear or walk in on them, Chara had lost all sense of volume control. Frisk had always known Chara was vocal, but had they always wanted to be this _loud_? If they _had_ , then, looking back, their self-control to never be louder than a polite speaking volume when getting intimate over the last two years was beyond astounding. But Frisk didn’t let it trip them up or falter in their rhythm. The noises that came out of Chara were only ones of euphoria, and they trusted Chara enough (as well as their own judgement by now) to tell them if they needed to stop. So far, Chara didn’t want to stop, and thank God, because Frisk didn’t want to either.

“Harder, Frisk. _Please_ ,” Chara begged, clawing at Frisk’s shirt in desperation.

Frisk responded by leaning forward, slipping their hands beneath Chara’s back and sliding them upwards until they wrapped over Chara’s shoulders. Chest to chest and balancing on their elbows, Frisk put their forehead against Chara’s breast then amplified their force, hitting into Chara as deep as they could reach.

Maybe it was the new angle, or maybe it was the added weight, but whatever the difference, it seemed to have done the trick for Chara. They crossed their shins tight, with as much strength as they coulld muster, desperate to keep Frisk buried deep within them, reluctant to be a millimeter apart for even a second. Their broken cries turn into wails as they try to twist and roll their hips up to grind their dick against Frisk’s abdomen.

Frisk kept up their fervent speed for maybe a minute more before they sense themselves nearing their peak. Taking a breath, Frisk held it, instead trying to focus on the sound of their waist clapping against the underside of Chara’s thighs, and wondered in vacant amusement if they could make the sound loud enough to drown out Chara’s moans. They doubted it, since they were still wearing their noise-muffling clothing… but tried to test the theory anyway.

Frisk gripped Chara tight as they sprinted towards their finish line, eyes screwed shut as they hurled themselves over the edge. And at last, when they could hold their breath no longer, Frisk came forceful and copious, releasing two weeks’ worth of build up into Chara’s wonderfully tight, amazingly hot hole.

Beneath them, Chara sighed, savoring that delicious heat as Frisk’s cock throbbed with each pulse. They flexed and stretched, clenching their glutes, reveling in the groans they draw out of Frisk as they squeezed around their dick, milking out every last drop they can manage.

Without even taking a moment to catch their breath, Frisk sat up and started again, rutting into Chara with slow but heavy thrusts. Climaxing just once no longer seemed to satisfy anymore, and Chara hadn’t even orgasmed at all. They were nowhere near done yet so the breather would have to wait.

“Hey - _mnph!_ \- Frisk?” Chara panted between Frisk’s steady bucking. Frisk hummed an inquiry, listening attentively.

“I want to - _mnph!_ \- flip over. _Mnph!_ The table isn’t - _mnph!_ \- as comfy as - _mnph!_ \- it looks, funnily enough.” They smirked at Frisk with half-lidded eyes, and Frisk sniffed a mirthful little puff out their nostrils.

Gently, Frisk pulled out, and Chara wasted no time rolling over on their stomach. They push up on to the tips of their toes, presenting their rear to Frisk as they watched them out of the corner of their eye with their head resting on crossed arms. A waggling eyebrow and beckoning grin was all the temptation Frisk needed to succumb yet again.

Spreading Chara’s cheeks, Frisk slowly wedged their way back inside, staring, mystified, as the pearly-white jizz in their condom leaked up and out the latex as Chara squeezed around Frisk’s cock.

Chara exhaled, humming long and deep as Frisk refilled them and resumed their tender pace, marking each buck with a soft grunt. Hearing the restrained noise, Chara spoke up.

“Hey Frisk?” Chara asked drunkenly, lifting their head enough to be heard. “Will you talk to me?”

Frisk slowed their speed, not understanding the request.

“About what?”

“Anything,” Chara mumbled. “You always force yourself to be quiet, but I know you want to make noise like I do, and I really want to hear your voice. If you’re embarrassed, just try speaking to me.”

Frisk blinked. “I… I don’t know what to talk about.”

“Just talk about anything. Say whatever thought comes to your mind.”

Frisk thought, but it felt as if their entire vocabulary had evaporated from their brain. They looked around for inspiration, but nothing seemed like a good conversation piece. Their eyes fell back onto Chara, making their heart flutter uncontrollably, and suddenly Frisk knew what to say.

“Okay, I’ll talk about you,” Frisk said sweetly. 

"Wh... Me?" Chara said genuinely surprised.

“Why not? You are the most incredible person I’ve ever met,” they whispered, timing the rolling of their hips with their complements. 

“You’re funny,” 

_Thrust._

“You’re quick witted,”

_Thrust._

“You’re caring, passionate, brave…”

_Thrust… thrust… thrust…_

“Every time I wake up next to you, my heart soars. Every time I see you smile, I fall in love with you. I love everything _about_ you. Your body, your voice, your mind...”

For someone who so readily gave praise, Chara was flummoxed when the tables were turned on them. Embarrassed by all the approval Chara hid their face in the crook of their arm, but their ears, now a shy shade of pink, were still visible letting Frisk know Chara was still listening.

And maybe it was Frisk’s imagination, but they were willing to bet now Chara was the one trying to force their throat to be silent, if only to hear Frisk prattle on better. But now that they had gotten started, Frisk didn’t want to stop. They were determined to list every single aspect they cherished about their other half.

Remembering something Chara once did long ago, Frisk released their hands frim Chara’s hips and rubbed them up Chara’s back.

“I love this,” Frisk said, massaging Chara’s spine, making them shudder in pleasure.

“And this,” Frisk trailed their fingers over Chara’s arms, giving them goose bumps and making their hair stand on end.

“And _all_ of this,” Frisk dragged their hands back down, ghosting over Chara’s sides, light enough not to tickle, and down their thighs as far as they can reach .

Out of the corner of their vision, something shining caught Frisk’s eye. Chara was starting to drip; a long thread of pre oozed from their cock, viscus and thick, and sparking in the low evening light. Without even thinking, Frisk brought one hand around to assist. With practiced fingers, they caught the strand and gently envelop Chara’s length with the natural lubricant.

Chara gasped, shoulders tensing at the sudden additional contact.

“A-anything else?” They stuttered, voice cracking.

“Oh, I think I could go on for _days_ ,” Frisk sighed, matching the rhythm of their wrist to the rocking of their hips. Carefully they leaned over, grabbing one of Chara’s balled-up fists with their free hand and placed kisses on Chara’s shoulder blades. 

“I feel like… I can talk to you about anything without you judging me. I feel like I’m just allowed to _exist_ with all my flaws and insecurities around you, and you don’t try to change me or fix me. You just accept me, because you’re like that too.”

Frisk slightly increased the pressure of their grip, swirling their thumb around the head of Chara’s cock and pinching the skin with each tug. Chara’s breathing grew uneven and erratic, and Frisk felt Chara’s thighs tremble against their own.

“I’m so, _so_ , thankful to have you in my life, and I can’t thank you enough for choosing to be with me, and to stay with me. You mean everything to me, Chara. I love you so, unspeakably, unfathomably much.”

Beneath them, Chara grunted and choked. A strangled half-whine, half-sob escaped their lips as their knees almost buckled, but Frisk caught them. In Frisk’s hand, they feel Chara’s cock throb as they finally cum, firing their load in thick ropes between Frisk’s fingers and onto the floor.

Frisk helped Chara ride it out, smooching their back, and stroking their shaft as each wave pulsed through their body. For a solid minute, the only sound that could be heard was Chara’s ragged breathing and the quick pitter-patter of fluid from Chara’s release puddling on the tile.

Only when Chara finally went limp, did Frisk relax their hold on them. They stood up straight and delicately pulled out, and Chara drew in a deep, shaky breath into their lungs.

“Welp… Dining room’s done,” Frisk murmured with a cocky smile. They wiped their hand on their shirt. “Want to keep going here or move to a different room?”

“I wanna sit down for a minute,” Chara mumbled, their voice hoarse but face smiling affectionately. They stood up, swayed a little, and Frisk offered them a hand for balance. Chara took it, then, stumbling, dragged Frisk into the living room before gently coaxing them to sit on the couch.

“I thought you said _you_ wanted to sit,” Frisk joked as Chara pushed them onto the cushions.

“I will in a second,” Chara promised, then said, “You know, for someone who is always so adamant about both of us being equals, it’s kinda unfair you’re still pretty much fully clothed and I’m not. I’m gonna have to fix that. Now raise your arms.”

Frisk obliged, allowing Chara to strip them, shirt, pants, boxers and all. When Frisk was finally bare Chara collapsed into their lap, rubbing their shaft up against Frisk’s. Frisk groaned at the touch. Chara’s flesh was fever hot against their own, now more sensitive and raw. 

Pleased by the sound, Chara rolled their hips forward again, dragging the ridged underside of their cock along Frisk’s as if trying to strike a match. Frisk moaned, and for the first time it was completely unrestrained. Chara frotted against Frisk a little harder, rocking on their knees and watched with childish glee as Frisk’s eyes fluttered shut and their composure crumbled.

Deciding they’d teased Frisk enough, Chara pushed themselves up on their knees. Frisk laboriously opened one eye to observe as Chara fiddled with their shaft, lining it up into position before sinking back down, sheathing Frisk to the hilt.

The two moan in unison- a duet of harmonizing gasps and sighs as they adjusted to each other. Chara shifted and squirmed, trying to get comfortable, and subconsciously Frisk brought their hands up to Chara’s hips, squeezing their rump to keep them balanced. When at last they’re steady, they press their forehead against Frisk’s and gaze into their eyes.

“Don’t drop me, okay?”

“Never,” Frisk breathed, gripping Chara tight, and helped them stay centered as Chara rocked their pelvis forward and grinded into Frisk’s abs.

Chara let their head fall forward, resting it in the crock of Frisk’s shoulder and neck while they grabbed onto Frisk’s arms for support and humped against Frisk’s chest. The coarseness of Frisk’s pubic hair itched against their length, rough and wonderful, and the feeling of Frisk’s nails digging into their ass was a slight, but pleasant, pain.

Wanting more, Chara started to bounce, pushing up on their shins and slowly descending back down in a short, jerky tempo. Caving in to their own desire for friction, Frisk helped support Chara’s weight, giving them a bit of extra lift before guiding them back down, and kept Chara steady as they rode on their cock.

All too quickly, Frisk felt their next climax drawing near, and, using what arm strength did have, they held Chara up ever so slightly, and bucked up into their ass. Chara jumped, Frisk’s dick repeatedly hitting that tender spot within them like a sharp shooter hits a bulls eye, again and again and _again_. They wrapped their arms under Frisk’s, and around Frisk’s back, desperate to keep them pressed close.

Frisk thrusted once, twice, three times more and then, with a guttural cry, erupted into Chara a second time. With an exhausted whimper, Chara rolled their pelvis forward, clenched one last time and followed suit, firing a thin, watery stream of seed that splattered onto Frisk’s chest.

For a while, the two just rested there, connected and breathless, waiting for their scattered minds to reassemble. It was comfortably close, and they took the moment to enjoy the sensation of simply having the other pressed against them. Even long after both had come down from the mind-blowing high of their intimacy, it just felt good to be next to the other, listening to their sleepy breathing and the steady drumming of the other’s heart. It was peaceful. It was perfect.

Chara was first to break the silence.

“Den’s done,” they panted heavily. “Which room next? Kitchen? Office?”

“Gonna have to get back to you on that,” Frisk huffed. “Now _I’m_ the one who just wants to sit down.”

“Fair enough,” Chara mused, resting their head over Frisk’s shoulder. “You did just do a lot of heavy lifting.”

There was a moment of silence before Chara spoke again.

“So, like, can I expect this to be a regular thing?”

“Expect what to be a regular what?” Frisk asked muzzily.

“This. Us. Fucking in a room that isn’t a bedroom for once, or was this just a one time, spur-of-the-moment-because-I’m-too-horny, kind of situation?” 

“Well, you said so yourself didn’t you? ‘A house isn’t a home until you’ve made love in every room’.”

“You misquoted me,” Chara corrected. “I didn’t use ‘made love’, I said ‘fucked’. But that’s beside the point. What’s more important is that I was being facetious when I said that. You know, saying crude thing just to be funny? I didn’t think you’d take me seriously. This is a new side of you I haven’t seen before. I hope it stays.”

“You want the real reason why I wanted to screw you senseless just now?” Frisk teased. 

“What?” 

Frisk dropped their voice to a whisper and leaned their lips close to Chara’s ear.

“ _I found your list._ ”

Frisk nearly choked as Chara goes ridged against them, squeezing them in a panicked death grip. They do their best not to laugh as embarrassed heat radiates off of Chara in waves.

“You… found my list?” Chara asked, voice squeaky and nervous. “So, uh… what’dja think?”

“You’re into a lot of… interesting kinks,” Frisk said. “A lot of them I’d never even heard before.” Chara giggled, high and uncertain. “But I’m not weirded out or anything. I’m more curious why you never brought them up to me in bed.”

“I… didn’t want to scare you off, I suppose,” Chara explained. Leaning against them, Frisk could feel Chara breathing too fast, too hard. They were frightened. “I made that list over a year ago when you first proposed we should try something different. You know, around the time we first tried anal? Those were my… other potential ideas. I know I get off to a lot of weird shit, but I figured you’d be uncomfortable with most of it.”

“Hmm, well thank you for thinking of me,” Frisk said, rubbing Chara’s back. “But it never hurts to propose something new. We can always discuss it before jumping in, to see if it’s something we’re both ready to try. I won’t look at you different for that.”

Little by little, Chara began to relax.

“And you know what? There are a couple of things on your list I think I’m ready to try with you now.”

“Like what?” Chara asked with baited breath.

“Well, you can cross ‘on the table’ and ‘in the living room’ off your list. Wanna check of ‘bareback’ next?”

“Yes. Nine million times yes,” Chara beamed. “But in a different room. Kill two birds with one stone.”

“How about the bathroom?” Frisk suggested. “Just in case things do get messy, and because after this next round I suspect I’m gonna have to call it a night.”

“Deal,” Chara nodded, and with new-found energy they hopped to their feet.

Frisk followed a bit slower, but no less enthusiastic as Chara grabbed their hand and led them upstairs. Chara smiled all the way, already envisioning all the new possibility they could, nay, _would_ explore with their other half, and excited for what new adventures they had in store both in and outside of their home. Undoubtedly, it would take them a while to do everything. Chara had a very long list after all, but that was okay. They only had the rest of their lives together, and they both figured that that would be all the time they needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading guys! Whether you've been with me from the beginning, or just found me last week, every kudos, comment, and bookmark means the world to me~ I can't tell you how proud and relieved I am to have finished this series. It's an accomplishment I never thought I'd reach, and I couldn't have done it without all of your support <3 Thanks for coming and thanks for coming ;) See you around guys!


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